George Frederick Cooke, an English actor, born in Westminster, April 17, 1755, died in New York, Sept. 26,1812. His father, an Irish captain of dragoons, died soon after his birth, and his mother removed to Berwick-upon-Tweed, where he was placed at school, and afterward apprenticed to a printer. Conceiving a strong passion for the stage, he indulged it for some time in private, and first appeared as a professed actor at Brentford in 1776, as Dumont in the tragedy of "Jane Shore." He performed at the Haymarket in London in 1778, without attracting attention, and after being a member of several provincial companies first attained popularity at Manchester in 1784. In 1794 he joined the Dublin company, became the hero of the stage at Dublin, Cork, and Manchester, and in 1800 accepted an engagement at Co vent Garden, London, where he appeared with decided success as Richard III. For ten years he was the rival of John Kemble, and played both in tragedy and comedy in the largest cities of Great Britain. His most popular characters were those of Richard III., Shy-lock, Iago, Sir Giles Overreach, Kitely, and Sir Pertinax Macsycophant. In 1810 he sailed for America, and on Nov. 21 appeared as Richard III. in the Park theatre, New York. He subsequently acted in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other cities, attracting large audiences, whom he annoyed by his capricious conduct and astonished by his wonderful acting.

His death was hastened by his intemperate habits. His memoirs were written by William Dunlap in 1812, and notes, of his conversation and many incidents of his life and associates in New York are contained in Dunlap's novel of "Thirty Years Ago" (1836). He is buried in St. Paul's churchyard, New York, where a monument was erected to his memory by Edmund Keane in 1821.