Inge

Inge, William, 1913-73, American playwright, b. Independence, Kans., grad. Univ. of Kansas, 1935. He was a teacher and newspaper critic before he won recognition as a dramatist. Inge's plays portray sympathetically the aspirations and frustrations of small-town life in the Midwest. Come Back, Little Sheba (1950) established his reputation. It was followed by Picnic (1953; Pulitzer Prize), Bus Stop (1955), and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957). After the unsuccessful production of A Loss of Roses (1959) Inge's reputation as a dramatist declined; he turned to writing novels, notably Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (1970). He died in 1973, apparently a suicide.

Inge, William Ralph, 1860-1954, Anglican prelate and author. He was fellow of King's College, Cambridge (1886-88), fellow and tutor of Hertford College, Oxford (1889-1904), and vicar of a London parish (1905-7). He then became Lady Margaret professor of divinity and fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. He was dean of St. Paul's Cathedral from 1911 to 1934. Well known for his originality of thought and for his pessimism, the latter earned him the title "the gloomy dean." His works include several on mysticism, a subject in which he was much interested. See Christian Mysticism (1897), Personal Idealism and Mysticism (1907), Mysticism in Religion (1948), and Diary of a Dean (1949).

(born May 3, 1913, Independence, Kan., U.S.—died June 10, 1973, Hollywood Hills, Calif.) U.S. playwright and screenwriter. He worked as a schoolteacher (1937–49) and moonlighted as drama editor of the St. Louis Star-Times (1943–46). His first play, Farther Off from Heaven (1947), was revised for Broadway as The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957; film, 1960). He is best known for his plays Come Back, Little Sheba (1950; film, 1952), Picnic (1953, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1956), and Bus Stop (1955; film, 1956), and for his original screenplay for Splendor in the Grass (1961, Academy Award). He was one of the first dramatists to explore small-town life in the Midwest.

Learn more about Inge, William (Motter) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born May 3, 1913, Independence, Kan., U.S.—died June 10, 1973, Hollywood Hills, Calif.) U.S. playwright and screenwriter. He worked as a schoolteacher (1937–49) and moonlighted as drama editor of the St. Louis Star-Times (1943–46). His first play, Farther Off from Heaven (1947), was revised for Broadway as The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957; film, 1960). He is best known for his plays Come Back, Little Sheba (1950; film, 1952), Picnic (1953, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1956), and Bus Stop (1955; film, 1956), and for his original screenplay for Splendor in the Grass (1961, Academy Award). He was one of the first dramatists to explore small-town life in the Midwest.

Learn more about Inge, William (Motter) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Inge is a first name in Scandinavia, Dutch-speaking countries and German-speaking speaking countries and a last name in English-speaking countries.

In most of Scandinavia the name is mostly used as a boys name, but in Denmark, Dutch-speaking countries and German-speaking countries it is used for girls. It is derived from Ing which is an alternative name for the norse god Freyr. Ing was one of the three sons of Mannus and the legendary ancestor of the Ingaevones. Since the Ingaevones form the bulk of the Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain, they were speculated by Noah Webster to have given England its name. Thus the name Inge could have the same root as the name England. In England, where the surname "Inge" is usually pronounced to rhyme with "ring," the pronunciation of the two are the same even though the spelling is slightly different. In the USA the surname is pronounced to rhyme with "hinge." Some related names are Inga, Ingar, Yngve, Inger, Ingrid, Ingeborg, Ingvild and Ingunn.

A number of famous people are named Inge:

• Scandinavian royalty
• Inge I of Norway (d. 1161)
• Inge II of Norway (d. 1217)
• Inge I of Sweden (d. ca. 1100)
• Inge II of Sweden (12th century)

• Modern
• Inge Lehmann (d. 1993), Danish seismologist
• Inge Krokann (d. 1962), Norwegian writer
• Kjell Inge Røkke (b. 1958), Norwegian businessman
• Stig Inge Bjørnebye (b. 1969), Norwegian soccer player

• as a surname
• William Ralph Inge (d. 1954), English clergyman
• Field Marshal Peter Anthony Inge, Baron Inge, KG, GCB, PC, DL, Chief of the Defence Staff
• William Motter Inge (d. 1973), American playwright
• Brandon Inge - Detroit Tigers Third Baseman
• M. Thomas Inge, American author

Also see International Noble Gas Experiment (INGE)

References