caption death_date death_place birth_place nationality birth_date image article_title name occupation
matthews circa 1910 31 march 1929 new york city , usa new orleans , usa usa 21 february 1852 brander_matthews . jpg brander matthews
 james brander matthews professor of dramatic literature
brander matthews

james brander matthews -lrb- february 21 , 1852 -- march 31 , 1929 -rrb- was an american writer and educator .
he was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at an american university and played a significant role in establishing theater as a subject worthy of formal study in the academic world .
his interests ranged from shakespeare , molière , and ibsen to french boulevard comedies , folk theater , and the new realism of his own day .
