Edward Alleyn

Pioneering Elizabethan actor and founder of the Dulwich College.

Chronology: 1566-09-01 – 1626-11-25

Origins & Early Life

Edward Alleyn ( AL-in; 1 September 1566 – 21 November 1626) was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. == Early life == Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bishopsgate, London; or so it was recorded in the Biographia Britannica as a product of Alleyn's own writing. Alleyn does record his birth date in a diary several times but does not distinctly identify his birthplace as Bishopsgate. In the St.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Botolph parish registers it is recorded that he was baptized on the day after his birth. He was born a younger son of Edward Alleyn with two brothers named John, and William. His father was an innkeeper and porter to Queen Elizabeth I and his mother, Margaret Townley, was the daughter of John Townley. His mother's link to the Lancashire Towneley family is somewhat of a mystery. Alleyn said she was the daughter of John Townley of Townley but the claim does not easily fit with the available information on the Townley family tree.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Regardless of this, the road that passes Alleyn's School was named after her in 1884. He was baptized at St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate. He was known to contemporaries as "Ned"; his...

Source: Wikipedia