30 Facts About Dion Boucicault

The New York Times hailed him in his obituary as "the most conspicuous English dramatist of the 19th century,"; he and his second wife, Agnes Robertson Dion Boucicault, applied for and received American citizenship in 1873.

Dion Boucicault's mother was Anne Maria Laura Beresford, sister of the poet and mathematician George Darley.

Anne was married to Samuel Smith Boursiquot, of Huguenot ancestry, but the identity of Dion Boucicault's father is uncertain.

Dion Boucicault was probably Dionysius Lardner, who was a lodger at Anne Boursiquot's house at a time when she had recently separated from her husband.

Consequently, Dion Boucicault attended various schools in and around London; there is confusion about the details of his education.

Dion Boucicault later recalled having boarded in Euston Square with a Rev Henry Stebbing, a historian.

Dion Boucicault wrote his own first play, The Old Guard, which was produced some years later.

When Dion Boucicault was in his late teens, his mother persuaded a cousin, Arthur Lee Guinness, to give her son a job as a clerk in the Dublin brewery.

Dion Boucicault began an affair with Guinness, which caused a crisis in his cousin's family.

In 1840 Dion Boucicault returned to London flush with cash, thought to be the result of blackmail or the family having paid him off.

Dion Boucicault enrolled as a student at the Dean Street Academy.

Dion Boucicault later claimed Guinness paid for his tuition and had made him his heir.

Dion Boucicault took up an acting offer in Cheltenham, adopting the stage name of Lee Morton.

Dion Boucicault joined William Charles Macready and made his first appearance on stage with Benjamin Webster at Bristol.

Dion Boucicault had further great successes with The Corsican Brothers and Louis XI, both adaptations of French plays.

From 1854 to 1860, Dion Boucicault resided in the United States, where he was always a popular favourite.

Dion Boucicault wrote many successful plays there, acting in most of them.

In late 1855, while his wife was performing in St Louis, Dion Boucicault became the lessee of the Varieties Theatre in New Orleans.

Dion Boucicault fell out with Stuart over money matters, and he returned to England.

Dion Boucicault's next marked success was at the Princess's Theatre, London in 1864 with Arrah-na-Pogue in which he played the part of a County Wicklow, Ireland carman.

However, Dion Boucicault withdrew from the business just before the theatre opened.

In 1875 Boucicault returned to New York City, where he made his home; for a time his manager was Harry J Sargent.

Dion Boucicault made his last appearance in London in his play, The Jilt, in 1885.

Dion Boucicault's plays are for the most part adaptations, but are often very ingenious in construction.

Dion Boucicault married the much older Anne Guiot at St Mary-at-Lambeth on 9 July 1845.

Dion Boucicault claimed that she died in a Swiss mountaineering accident later in the same year, though she may in fact have died as late as 1848.

Dion Boucicault was Charles Kean's ward; the juvenile lead in his company and an actress of unusual ability.

Dion Boucicault would bear Dion six children: Dion William Boucicault ; Eva Boucicault ; Dion Jr.

Between 11 July and 8 October 1885, Dion Boucicault toured Australia, where his brother Arthur lived.

Dion Boucicault died in 1890 in New York City, and was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Hastings, Westchester County, New York.