A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Rationalists/Archer, William
Archer, William, M.A., dramatic critic. B. Dec. 23, 1856. Ed. Edinburgh University. After a period of journalism in Edinburgh and a short stay in Australia he settled in London in 1878. He was dramatic critic of the Figaro 1879-81, and was called to the bar (Middle Temple) in 1883. Pie continued to be dramatic critic on, in succession, the World (1884-1905), the Tribune, the Nation, and the Star. Besides his own numerous works (notably Real Conversations, 1904, and The Life, Trial, and Death of Francisco Ferrer, 1911), he has translated most of Ibsen's plays, and he has edited Ibsen's Prose Dramas (5 vols., 1890) and Collected Works (11 vols., 1906, etc.). He has also translated works of Maeterlinck, Kielland, Hauptmann, Brandes, etc. His Agnostic views are best given in his God and Mr. Wells (1918). Mr. Archer is an Honorary Associate of the Rationalist Press Association, and a fearless and powerful advocate of advanced causes. He has contributed to the R. P. A. Annual for many years.