Appleton, William Worthen, 1915-2014

William Appleton, collector, was born in New York on December 31, 1915. He graduated with a BA from Harvard University in 1938 and continued his education in New York City, receiving his Masters from Columbia University in 1939 and a Ph.D in 1949. He taught at Columbia from the 1940s until the late 1970s and was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1976.

William Appleton is a theater scholar. He has both written and edited works on theater, primarily English theater of the 18th and 19th centuries. His writings include A Cycle of Cathay (1951), Beaumont and Fletcher: a Critical Study (1956), Charles Macklin : An Actor's Life (1960) and Madame Vestris and the London Stage (1974). Works he has edited include The Careless Husband (1966), The Prompter: a Theatrical Paper (1734-1736) (1966) and Letters to Dorothy (1988).

From the guide to the Collection of theatrical correspondence and ephemera, 1697-1930, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)