Betterton
THOMAS, English actor, born in 1635; excelled in Shakespeare's characters of Hamlet, Othello, Brutus, and Hotspur, and was the means of introducing shifting scenes instead of tapestry upon the English stage. He wrote the "Woman Made a Justice," a comedy; "The Amorous Widow, or the Wanton Wife"; "Diocletian," a dramatic opera; etc. Mrs. Sanderson, whom he married in 1670, was also an actress of repute. He died in 1710, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.