Person · United States / Britain / Europe
Ira Aldridge
1807 – 1867
African American tragedian who built an international career in Britain and Europe and was long marginalised in theatre histories.
Born in New York, Aldridge is associated with the African Grove Theatre before he left for Britain in the mid-1820s. He played Othello at Covent Garden in 1833 amid hostile press coverage, then toured British provincial theatres and later continental Europe and Russia, playing roles including Othello, Shylock, and Lear and receiving honours from several European states.
He died in Łódź in 1867. Detailed modern documentation of his career, including Bernth Lindfors's multi-volume study, has revealed how extensive and celebrated it was.