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EMMET - 5 reference results

Sherwood, Robert Emmet

Sherwood, Robert Emmet, 1896-1955, American dramatist, b. New Rochelle, N.Y., grad. Harvard, 1918. After serving in World War I, he wrote for Vanity Fair and Life, serving as editor of the latter from 1924 to 1928. His first play, the historical comedy The Road to Rome (1927), was an immediate success. It was followed by The Love Nest (1927), Waterloo Bridge (1930), and Reunion in Vienna (1931), a nostalgic comedy of the exiled Hapsburgs. His next plays—The Petrified Forest (1935), a melodrama set in the Arizona desert; Idiot's Delight (1936; Pulitzer Prize), an antiwar drama; and There Shall Be No Night (1940; Pulitzer Prize), about the Russian invasion of Finland—depict a civilization on the brink of disaster. Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938; Pulitzer Prize), one of his most notable efforts, concerns Lincoln's early years. During World War II, Sherwood was director of overseas operations in the Office of War Information and a speech writer for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. On the basis of the papers of Harry Hopkins he wrote a memoir, Roosevelt and Hopkins (1948; Pulitzer Prize), one of the most important documents on World War II. Sherwood also adapted Jacques Deval's comedy Tovarich (1936); wrote film scripts, including The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); and completed Philip Barry's last play, Second Threshold (1951).

See biographical studies by J. M. Brown (1965; ed. by N. Cousins, 1970), and W. J. Meserve (1970).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Emmet, Thomas Addis

Emmet, Thomas Addis, 1764-1827, Irish-American lawyer, b. Cork, Ireland, grad. Trinity College, Dublin, 1782; brother of Robert Emmet. He was trained in medicine at the Univ. of Edinburgh but abandoned that field for law and gained a brilliant reputation as a barrister in Ireland, particularly in defending members of the Society of United Irishmen. Imprisoned in 1798 for his activities in the Irish cause, he was later released on condition of perpetual exile and emigrated to the United States in 1804. He established a practice in New York and became one of the most notable American lawyers. His interest in the Irish cause continued, and he was of invaluable assistance to many of the early Irish immigrants who came to America.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Emmet, Robert

Emmet, Robert, 1778-1803, Irish nationalist and revolutionary. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, but left in 1798 because of his nationalist sympathies. In 1800 he went to France, where with exiled United Irishmen he planned a French-aided uprising in Ireland. Returning (1802) to Ireland, he scheduled the uprising for the summer of 1803. The insurrection, which took place in July, 1803, ended in utter confusion. Emmet himself, who had attempted a march on Dublin Castle with about 100 men, fled. However, he returned to Dublin soon after, partly to be near Sarah Curran, daughter of John Philpot Curran. He was captured, tried, and hanged. Leonard MacNally, his attorney, was in the pay of the crown, and many of Emmet's associates were informers for the British government. Emmet became a hero of Irish nationalists, largely on the basis of his stirring speech from the scaffold.

See biography by L. O'Broin (1958); study by H. Landreth (1964).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Sherwood, Robert E(mmet)

(born April 4, 1896, New Rochelle, N.Y., U.S.—died Nov. 14, 1955, New York, N.Y.) U.S. playwright. Sherwood was a magazine editor in New York City and a member of the Algonquin Round Table, the centre of a New York literary coterie. He examined the pointlessness of war in his first play, The Road to Rome (1927). Idiot's Delight (1936), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938), and There Shall Be No Night (1940) won Pulitzer prizes. In 1938 he cofounded the Playwrights' Company, which became a major producing company. During World War II he wrote speeches for Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt and headed the overseas branch of the Office of War Information (1941–44). His book Roosevelt and Hopkins (1948) won a Pulitzer Prize. Many of his plays were adapted for film; his original screenplays include The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, Academy Award).

Learn more about Sherwood, Robert E(mmet) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.