CIBBER, CoLLEY (1671-1757). An English actor and dramatist, born in London. in 1682 he was sent to the free school at Grantham. in Lincolnshire. Five years thereafter he returned to London, and in 1685 was a volunteer in the forces raised by the Earl of .Devonshire in sup port of the Prince of Orange. Ile afterwards turned to the stage, and after performing gratu itously for several months, lie obtained an en gagement at 10s. per week, whi4h was raised to 15s.; and on the commendation of Congreve, who had witnessed his performance of Lord Touch wood, Live additional shillings per week were added. Cibber now began to take the leading Darts in many comedies. and soon established his reputation as an actor. in the meantime he was writing comedies. Lore's Lost ,s'hift pro duced in 1090. and thereafter followed 29 more plays. As a dramatist, Cibber claims to have done much toward the reformation of the stage.
However immoral individual scenes in his plays may be, the libertines are reclaimed in the last act. As phipvright and comedian. he was closely conn•ted with Drury Lane Theatre, of which he became manager in 1710. He retired from the stage in 1733, though after that (late lie o•ca sionally reappeared. Three years before he had been appointed poet laureate. The poems he now wrote were worthless, and exposed him to scathing ridicule. Pope made him the hero of the new Dunciod (1742). After retiring from the stage. Cibla-r began his famous .1vo/ogy, which appeared in 17 tO. This hook is not only an important history of the Queen Anne stage; it is one of the most amusing autobiographies ever written. Cibber died December 12, 1757. Consult Cibber, .1 pology, ed. by Lowe (London, 1SSS).