Ira Aldridge, 2011 ECIP data view (African American Shakespearean actor; b. 1807; d. 1867)
Wikipedia, March 18, 2011 (Ira Frederick Aldridge; July 24, 1807, New York City; d. 7 August 1867; an African American stage actor who made his career largely on the London stage and in Europe, especially in Shakespearean roles; he is the only actor of African-American descent among the 33 actors of the English stage honored with bronze plaques at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon; he was especially popular in Prussia and Russia, where he received top honors from heads of state)
Encyclopedia of African American history, 1619-1895, via Oxford African American Studies Center database, accessed October 26, 2014: (Aldridge, Ira; Ira Frederick Aldridge; stage / screen actor; born 24 July 1807 in New York, New York, United States; worked at the fledgling African Grove Theater (African Theatre (Theater group)); the theater closed in 1823 after the New York City government refused to grant it a license; immigrated to England (1824); made his debut at the Royal Coburg Theatre (Old Vic Theatre) (1825); used the stage name Mr. Keene and was also known as "the African Roscius" until he reverted to his family name in (1832); toured in Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Austria, and Poland; received the Gold Medal of the First Class for Art and Sciences from the king of Prussia and the Medal of Ferdinand from the emperor of Vienna; became a British citizen (1858); died 10 August 1867 in Lodz, Poland)