Excerpt from The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol. 6: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women Who Are Doing the Work and Moulding the Throught of the Present Time

Fennell, James, tragedian, was born in London, Dec. 11, 1766, and made his début as an actor in Edinburgh in 1787. Soon after he was seen as Othello at the Convent Garden Theatre, London. He wasavigorous and versatile actor, and soon won an eminent position in his profession. He came to the United States in 1797, making his American début in Annapolis, Md., and for a time disputed with Cooper the supremacy in tragic roles on this side of the sea. Wine and women in the end wrought his ruin. He retired from the stage in 1814, and died an imbecile in Philadelphia in J une. 1816. An Apology for his life, a curious book, was pub lished some time before his death.

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