Thomas Godfrey | |
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Born | Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania | 4 December 1736
Died | 3 August 1763 26) Wilmington, Province of North Carolina | (aged
Occupation | poet, dramatist |
Language | English |
Thomas Godfrey (4 December 1736 - 3 August 1763) was an American poet who died at age 26. He is known for writing The Prince of Parthia , [1] the first play written by an American to be performed by a professional cast, as well for his tribute to Chaucer and Alexander Pope known as The Court of Fancy . [2]
His father, also called Thomas Godfrey, was the co-inventor of the first octant, known popularly as Hadley's quadrant.
Thomas Godfrey showed talent for artistic expression even at a young age. His father, a Philadelphia inventor, died when Thomas was only 13, and his relatives sent him away to a boarding school in England. Upon returning, he was apprenticed to a watchmaker in Philadelphia, despite his desire to become a painter.
Even during this apprenticeship, some of his poems were published in American Magazine . [3]
After the apprenticeship, Godfrey joined the military, being involved with the Pennsylvania forces in an expedition against the French-held Fort Du Quesne in 1758.
Shortly thereafter, Godfrey wrote what may be the first play written in the Thirteen Colonies, The Prince of Parthia, which was published two years after his death, and whose first documented performance was two years after that.
He died of fever after a short riding trip. [4]
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem Gerusalemme liberata, in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the Siege of Jerusalem of 1099.
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, KG, was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and self-described "lover" of King James VI and I. Buckingham remained at the height of royal favour for the first three years of the reign of James's son, King Charles I, until he was assassinated.
Sir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, also known for being the victim of a murder which led to a scandalous trial. His poem A Wife, which depicted the virtues that a young man should demand of a woman, played a large role in the events that precipitated his murder.
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1767.
Thomas Godfrey was a glazier and self-taught mathematician and astronomer in the Pennsylvania Colony, who invented the octant in 1730. A similar octant was also independently invented about the same time by John Hadley in London with Hadley receiving the greater share of the credit for development.
Thomas Sully was an American portrait painter. Born in Great Britain, he lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence. His subjects included national political leaders such as United States presidents: Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson, Revolutionary War hero General Marquis de Lafayette, and many leading musicians and composers. In addition to portraits of wealthy patrons, he painted landscapes and historical pieces such as the 1819 The Passage of the Delaware. His work was adapted for use on United States coinage.
John Fitch was an American inventor, clockmaker, entrepreneur, and engineer. He was most famous for operating the first steamboat service in the United States. The first boat, 45 feet long, was tested on the Delaware River by Fitch and his design assistant Steven Pagano.
The Old American Company was an American theatre company. It was the first fully professional theatre company to perform in North America. It also played a vital role in the theatre history of Jamaica. It was founded in 1752 and disbanded in 1805. It was known as the Hallam Company (1752–1758), the American Company (1758–1785) and the Old American Company (1785–1805). With a few temporary exceptions, the Company enjoyed a de facto monopoly of professional theatre in the United States until 1790.
The Imaginary Invalid, The Hypochondriac, or The Would-Be Invalid is a three-act comédie-ballet by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It premiered on 10 February 1673 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris and was originally choreographed by Pierre Beauchamp.
The loathly lady, is a tale type commonly used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale. The motif is that of a woman who appears unattractive but undergoes a transformation upon being approached by a man in spite of her unattractiveness, becoming extremely desirable. It is then revealed that her ugliness was the result of a curse which was broken by the hero's action.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Thomas L. Jennings was an African-American inventor, tradesman, entrepreneur, and abolitionist in New York City, New York. He has the distinction of being the first African-American patent-holder in history; he was granted the patent in 1821 for his novel method of dry cleaning. Jennings' invention, along with his business expertise, yielded a significant personal fortune, much of which he put into the abolitionist movement in the United States.
The Prince of Parthia is a Neo-Classical tragedy by Thomas Godfrey and was the first stage play written by an American to be presented in the United States by a professional cast of actors, on April 24, 1767, at the Southwark Theatre in Philadelphia. It was first published in 1765. It is set in the Parthian Empire in the 1st century A.D. during the Arsacid dynasty.
Elizabeth Trevannion, Countess of Monmouth, was an English aristocrat and keeper of Prince Charles.
Thomas Boylston Adams was the third and youngest son of second United States president John Adams and Abigail (Smith) Adams. He worked as a lawyer, a secretary to his brother John Quincy Adams while the latter served as United States ambassador to the Netherlands and Prussia, the business manager of and a contributor to the political and literary journal Port Folio, and a Massachusetts chief justice.
Thomas Mason was an American businessman, planter and politician. As a son of George Mason, a Founding Father of the United States, Mason was a scion of the prominent Mason political family.
The Devonshire House Ball or the Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball was an elaborate fancy dress ball, hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, held on 2 July 1897 at Devonshire House in Piccadilly to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Due to the many prominent royals, aristocrats, and society figures who attended as well as the overall lavishness of the ball, it was considered the event of the 1897 London Season.
Thomas Masters was the mayor of colonial Philadelphia from 7 October 1707 to October 4, 1709, before Richard Hill, and after Nathan Stanbury.
David Douglass, was a British-American stage actor and theatre manager. He was the managing director of the Old American Company between 1758 and 1779.