FLEMING, William Maybury, actor, born in Danbury, Connecticut, 29 September 1817; died in New York, 7 May 1866. He began his professional career at about twenty years of age, and became known chiefly for his personations of Romeo, Claude Melnotte, Edgar in " King Lear," the Bastard in " King John," Hamlet, Richelieu, Sir Giles Overreach, Sir Edward Mortimer, Mathias in "The Bells," Rolla, Jack Cade, and a few special isles of poetic character.

In 1852 he assumed control of the National theatre, Boston, which he directed for several years. After visits to England and California, he became lessee and manager of the Savannah atheneum and the Macon theatre simultaneously, acting occasionally as a star on his own stage. At the beginning of the civil war he relinquished his business interests in the south at pecuniary loss, and soon afterward entered the National service as a paymaster, rising to the rank of colonel. His death resulted from injuries received in General Sherman's Georgia campaign in 1864'5.His son, Maybnry, is a dramatic critic, now (1887) on the editorial staff of the New York "Mail and Express."