Eugene O'Neill, playwright

American (b. New York, New York, 1888-1953)

Eugene O'Neill is considered America's first great playwright. Rejecting the established American melodrama, he realized the importance of characterization over plot. O'Neill received the Pulitzer Prize for several plays, including Anna Christie (1922) and Long Day's Journey into Night (1957). He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1936.

Beth Bishop 1996