Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/482

* KEMBLE. 438 KEMPELEN. cus, and in 1849 appeared two volumes of a His- tory of the Anglo-Haitu-ns in England, a work which was never completed, but which remained up to the time of the publication of Bishop IStubbs's Constitutional History the oliief au- thority for the study of the history of England before the Norman Conquest. KEMBLE, John Vnu.iv (1757-1823). An eminent Knfjlish actor, the eldest son of Roger Keiiible (([.v.). Bom at Prcscott, in Lancashire, February 1. 1757, lie was educated cliielly at a Koman Catholic seminary in 8ta(rordshire, and at the Knglish College of Duuai, in France. On his return lo England he adopted the stage as his profession, making his first appearance at Wol- verhampton in 1770. On September 30, 1783, he first appeared at Drury Lane in Hamlet — alway3 a favorite character of his — and in 1788 he suc- ceeded to the management of (hat thealre, where his elder sister, Sirs. Siddons (q.v. ). was for some years the leading actress. After the de- struction of the building by fire, Kemble raised a new one, which was opened in 1800. In June, 1817, he retired from the stage, and a few days thereafter a public dinner was given him, for which Thomas Cami)l)ell composed his Valedic- tory Stan:::as to J. I'. Kemble, Esc/. He finally took up his residence in Switzerland, where he died on February 20, 1823. His wife, Priscilla Kemble, an actress of ability, whom he had married in 1787, survived liini. Kemble was a great tragedian and a man of character. He loved to personate, with his commanding figure and sonorous voice, the loftier heroes of the dramas — kings, prelates, heroes. He was espe- cially successful in Brutus. Wolsey, Macbeth, and Coriolanus. Consult: Boaden, Memoirs of the Life of John Philip Kemble, Esq. (London, 1825) ; FitzGerald, The Kembles (London. 1871) ; Doran, Annals of the Stage, edited by Lowe (Lon- don, 1888) ; Baker, English Aeiors from Shake- speare to Macready (New York, 1879). KEMBLE, M.BIE ThiSri^se De Camp (1774- 1838). An actress, born at Vienna, Austria, of a theatrical family, brought to England when a child, and in 1800 married to Charles Kemble (q.v.). As Jliss De Camp she had already become popular in comedy, and ]ilayed also in comic opera. She continued on the stage with her hus- band, but retired in 1810, except for an appear- ance with her daughter Fanny in 1829. She was the author of several dramatic pieces, ^mong them The Day After the Wedding, an interlude. KEMBLE, Roger (1721-1802). The founder of the English family of actors bearing his name, of which his daughter Sarah (see SlDDONS, Sakah) and his son .Tohn Philip (see ICemble, John Pmr.ip) are the most celebrated. He was the head of an itinerant company of players, and an actor of some ability. He married in 1753 Sarah Wood, an actress, by whom he had twelve chil- dren. Consult FitzGerald. The Kembles, a«. Ac- count of the Kemble Family (London, 1871). KEMBLE PLAYS. The name given to a valuable collection of English dramas made by the tragedian .Tohn Philip Kemble (q.v.) and now in the library of Devonshire House. Lon- don. It includes the first editions of Shake- speare's plays. KEMENY, ke'm.a-ny'. Zsinnoxn. P.aron (ISlfi- 75). An Himgarian politician and writer, born in Magyar-Kapud, Transylvania. He studied and practiced law, and in 1840 became a member of the Opposition in the local ParliauuMit, and the editor of its org.an, Erdclyi Uirado. In 1842 he retired for a time from public life, and toolc up literature. Ills first novel, (lyulai I'M, was published in five volumes in 1840. Two years afterwards he was in Budapest, assistant editor of the I'esti Jlirlap, and a deputy to the National Assembly on the side of Kossuth. In 1851 he be- came editor of the inlluential political journal, the I'esti apl6. His romances are Ferj es nii (1852); <S'~ii; iirvenyei (1854); Ax iizvcyy es lianya (1850) ; and Zord idS (1857), while his essays were collected in two volumes inidcr the title", Studies (1870). KEMNITZ, kem'mts. A German theologian. See CiiE.MXiTZ. KEMP, George Meikle (1795-1844). A Scotch architect, born at JMoorfoot, Peeblesshire. He was the son of a shejiherd, but in his youth showed a taste for drawing, and though by trade a carpenter and wheelwright, took every op])or- tunity to study architecture. After a sliort stay abroad, he settled for a time in Edinburgh. One of his works there was a model in wood of a palace for the Uuke of Bucclcueh. He also did some drawings for a book on Scottish cathedrals that was never brought out, and pre- pared designs for a restoration of Glasgow Cathedral. The only actual work of Kemp is the monument to Walter Scott in Edinburgh, begun in 1840. He was accidentally drowned before this was completed, but it remains a last- ing honor to its architect. KEMP, James Flhman (1859—). An Ameri- can geologist, born in New York City, and edu- cated at the Brooklyn Adelphi, at Amherst Col- lege, and at the Cuiumbia Scliciol of -Mines. He became a member of the Federal and State Geological Surve3S, made especial investigation of the gcology of the Adirondack Jlountains (New Y'ork), and was appointed professor of geology in Columbia University. His publications include Ore Deposits of the United Slates and Canada (1893-1900) and Handbook of /focfcs( 1890-1901 ). KEMP, Joseph (1778-1824). An English organist, born at E.veter. From 1802 to 1809 he was organist of Bristol Cathedral, and from 1809 to 1814 resided in London, after which he lived chiefly in Exeter. In 1810 he delivered U'cturcs on the 'New System of Musical Education,' which it is claimerl was the first method propounded in England, for class or chorus teaching. Among his works were the famous cathedral anthem 7 Am Alpha, and Omega; Tirelre Psalmodical Melodies; Musical Illustrations of the Beauties of Shakespeare; Musical Illustrations of the Lady of the Lak'- ; and many chants, single glees, and duet s. He died at Exeter. KEMPE, Ann- Eliza. The maiden name of the English author Ann Eliza Kempe Bray (q.v.). KEMPELEN, kcm'pe-len, Wolfgang von (1734-1804). An Austrian mechanic and in- ventor. He was born at Pressburg. in Hungary, and obtained celebrity as the deviser of an autom- aton chess-player with which he traveled over a good ])art of the world. Kempelen also pro- duced a complicated figure which articulated cer- tain words distinctly. To explain its construc- tion he published the Mechanismus der mensch- lichen Sprache (1791).