[Ira Frederick]. American negro tragedian brought out by the actor Edmund Kean, and afterward known as the “African Roscius.” Some biographers claim that he was born at Belair, near Baltimore, while others say, probably on better authority, that he was born in New York City. They all agree that as a boy he had a passion for the stage, and that when he made his début in London at the Royalty Theatre as Othello he met with immediate success. He appeared in various countries, and everywhere was received with enthusiasm,—honors being conferred on him by nearly all the crowned heads of Europe. Aldridge was an honorary member of numerous academies of art. He died in Lodz, Poland, on the 7th of August 1867, leaving a widow, an English lady, in London.
