Christopher Marlowe,
DRAMATIST,
Was born in 1564, in Canterbury, where his father, John Marlowe, is said to have been a shoemaker, holding also the office of parish clerk. Christopher was educated at the King's School, and sent to Benet College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. in 1587. Before this he produced his play "Tamburlaine the Great," the first tragedy worthy of that name in the language. This was successively followed by "Dr. Faustus," "The Jew of Malta," "Edward II," and the "Massacre of Paris." The tragedy of "Dido, Queen of Carthage," was published after his death. Very little is known of the personal life of Marlowe. At some portion of his short life he is said to have been an actor, and to have broken his leg in the practice of his profession. But for this and other traditions there is very little reliable evidence. The only authentic record of his death is in the Church of St. Nicholas, Deptford, where is an entry in the Register:—"Christopher Marlowe, slain by Francis Archer, June 1st, 1593." Francis Archer is said to have been a "serving man," of bad character, with whom the poet engaged in a tavern brawl. So perished, at the early age of twenty-nine, one who may be considered as the father of English tragedy, and the fore-runner of Shakespeare. Besides his tragedies, he produced "The Passionate Shepherd," "one of the most faultless lyrics in the whole range of descriptive and fanciful poetry."
[See "Biographia Dramatica," "Wharton's History of Poetry," etc.]