Ira Aldridge’s Reputation in the United States during his Lifetime

Abstract

Ira Aldridge is widely recognized today for having been the first African American to earn an international reputation as a professional actor in the nineteenth century. During his first twenty-seven years performing throughout the British Isles, he was recognized as a skillful actor. He went on to perform Shakespeare with great success in major theatres on the Continent for the remaining fifteen years of his career. Yet his remarkable achievements abroad were seldom mentioned in newspapers in the United States during his lifetime. More stories about him finally began to circulate when it was announced in 1867 that he would be returning to America to perform in New York City, but he died in Poland shortly before he was due to sail. The many obituaries written about him immediately afterward earned him a measure of belated recognition.