Edwin Booth

Edwin Booth (1833-1893) was a popular American stage actor, a member of the famous Booth family. He toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time. Some theatrical historians consider him the greatest American actor and the greatest Hamlet of the 19th century. However, his achievements are often overshadowed by his relationship with his younger brother John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln.

Edwin Booth in Southern Victory
Edwin Booth was a popular actor during the 19th century. After the War of Secession, Booth toured the United States and Confederate States with his brothers, John and Junius. They became very popular in both countries.

On April 22, 1882, the day that the Second Mexican War ended, Samuel Clemens began to prepare an editorial for The San Francisco Morning Call, and discovered he had a case of writer's block. He likened it to an instance of veteran actors like the Booth brothers suddenly struck with stage fright.

By the early 20th Century, Booth and his brothers were still remembered as the greatest actors of all time.