Matthews, Brander

Matthews, Brander (James Brander Matthews), 1852–1929, American author and teacher, b. New Orleans. Matthews was a well-known figure in theatrical and literary circles in Paris and London as well as in New York City. He began to teach at Columbia Univ. in 1891 and in 1900 was appointed the first professor of dramatic literature in any American university. A founding member of several writers' clubs, he had considerable influence on the playwrights of the period from 1890 to 1915. His works include The Development of the Drama (1903), Principles of Playmaking (1919), and Playwrights on Playmaking (1923). His gift of model stage sets, costumes, and books is now the Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum at Columbia.

Bibliography

See his autobiography, These Many Years (1917).