MACKAYE, m'-kl'. JAMES `TEELE (1442 94). An Anerican dramatist, born iu Bufialo. 11e studied dramatic expression in Paris under Frane,nis Del sarte. and on Iii return to .\u eric-a lectured in New York City and Boston. 11i= two plays, ifo1ddi and J/urr•iuqe. written about this' time. were produced at the faint Jame: Theatre in New York City. He afterwards toured in England as an actor, and played Ihauilet in London, where he eollaborated in several well known play. his other works inclicde: Tic" Twins ( 15711) : lVon at Last 114771 ; Ticrouqh. lice Dinh (1S75. later called .11ooei( .1/ad I ; llaa. 1 Kirke (18R0): and .Inarchi, (I897, later called Paul Kaurar).
McKEAN'. Tuox.ts (1734-1S17). .\n Ameri can patriot and politician, signer of the Declara tion of inclepenclenee. Ile was born at New' Lon don, Chester County. Pa., of Irish parentage, and was educated privately at New Castle, Del., where he settled. He studied law, was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1755, was immediately appointed register of probate, and in 1756 be came assistant attorney for Sussex County. From 1757 to 1759 he was clerk of the Delaware As sembly, and in 1762 was commissioned with Cesar llodney (q.v.) to revise all the laws of Delaware passed prior to 1752. In the same year he began his long service as a member of the Delaware Assembly, where he served continuously by reelection until 1779. In 1765 he was elected to the Stamp Act Congress (see STAMP ACT), where he was instrumental in securing an equal vote for each of the provinces represented and assisted in drawing up the memorial to Parlia ment. Ile was cleited in the same year a judge of the Common Pleas, and boldly ruled that only unstamped paper should be used in his court. In 1771 he was collector of the port of New Castle, and about the same time opened an office for the practice of law in Philadelphia. He con tinued to reside for part of the time in Delaware, however, and in 1774 was elected a delegate from that province to the Continental Congress. In the proceedings of that body he took a leading part, serving until 1783 and being the only mem ber sitting continuously throughout the war. He favored the adoption of the Declaration of hide pendenee, and, though absent when that document was signed. lie was later (probably in 1784) al lowed to affix his signature. Ile also helped to draft the Articles of Confederation, which he signed. In 1781 he was president of Congress.
While still a member of the Delaware Assembly, and one of the Delaware delegates in Congress, he become prominently identified with Pennsylvania affairs, was ehairman of the Committee of Safety in that State in 1776, and in 1777 was chosen Chief Justice, a position which lie held until 1799. In the latter year, having become one of the lead ers of the Republican Party. and a strong sup porter of Jefferson, he was elected Governor of Pennsylvania, serving until 1808. With .James Wilson he was the author of Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (1700).
MeKEESPORT, rre-kestprirt. A city in Al legheny County, Pa., 15 miles southeast of Pitts burg; at the confluence of the Monongahela. and Youghiogheny rivers, both of which are navi gable, and on the Baltimore and Ohio, the Penn sylvania, and the Pittsburg and Lake Erie rail roads (Slap: Pennsylvania, 11 3). It is in the heart of the natural gas and the bituminous coal regions of the State, and is the seat of a vast iron and steel industry, the plant of the National Tube Works, which alone employs 8500 men, being one of the largest in the world. Other manufactures are railroad ears, locomotives and supplies, glass, and lumber. There is a large trade in coal and lumber. The city has the Douglass Industrial College, McKeesport Hospi tal, Carnegie Library, 'Voting Men's Christian Association Hall, a fine high school building (cost $168,000), and several bridges that are of interest architecturally. The government is vested in a mayor, elected every three years; a hicameral council; and administrative officials as follows: police. street commissioner, and board of health, appointed by the mayor with the eon sent of the council: water commissioners, city solicitor, and chief of fire department, elected by the council; and treasurer, comptroller, board of assessors, and school board, chosen by popular election. The principal items of annual expendi ture are about $155,000 for schools, $35,000 for the fire department, $55,000 for the police depart ment, and $55,000 for the water-works, which are owned and operated by the city, having been built 1882 at a cost of about $425,000. Set tled in 1795 and named in honor of John :McKee, its founder, :McKeespo•t wa.s incorporated as a borough in 1842. Until 1830, when coal-mining began in the district, it was a straggling village. Population, in 1890, 20,741; in 1900, 34,227.