Kemble, John Philip 1757-1823
English actor

He was born in Prescot, Lancashire, the brother of Sarah Siddons, Charles Kemble and Stephen Kemble, and the eldest son of Roger Kemble. His father intended him for the Catholic priesthood, and sent him to a seminary at Sedgley Park, Staffordshire, and to the English college at Douai (France), but the life of a priest did not appeal to him and he became an actor. His first appearance was at Wolverhampton (1776). He joined the York circuit under Tate Wilkinson and he played in Ireland. The success of his sister, Mrs Siddons, gave him the opportunity to come to London, and in 1783 he made his London debut, as Hamlet at Drury Lane. He continued to play leading tragic characters at Drury Lane for many years, steadily improving his art, and in 1788 became Richard Brinsley Sheridan's manager. He bought a share in Covent Garden Theatre (1802), became manager, and made his first appearance there as Hamlet (1803). In 1808 the theatre was burned, and on the opening of the new building (1809) the notorious OP (Old Price) Riots broke out. Kemble retired in 1817, and afterwards settled in Lausanne, Switzerland.