City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

Thomas Sheridan (1719 – 14 August 1788) was an Irish stage actor, an educator, and a major proponent of the elocution movement. He received his M.A. in 1743 from Trinity College in Dublin, and was the godson of Jonathan Swift. He also published a "respelled" dictionary of the English language (1780). He was married (1747) to Frances Chamberlaine. His son is the more famous Richard Brinsley Sheridan, while his daughter Alicia also wrote plays. His work is very noticeable in the writings of Hugh Blair.