George C. Howard

George C. Howard (1818–1887) was a Nova Scotian-born American actor and showman who is credited with staging the first theatrical production of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Early life George Howard Cunnabell was born on January 6, 1818, at Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of John Henry and Mary Ann (née Nevon) Cunnabell. Howard’s father was originally a carpenter who later operated a successful tallow and ship chandler business until it was consumed in a devastating fire and his contracts with the British Navy were lost to competitors.

Career Howard’s first performances were as a choirboy at Catholic services in Halifax and later in amateur theater. He tried his hand at several trades, the last being tailoring, before leaving for Boston in 1836 to pursue an acting career. He made his professional debut in 1838 as George Cunnabell Howard at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and within a few years was playing major roles at the Boston Museum (theatre). He was the first there to play Claude Melnotte in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Lady of Lyons; Sir Thomas Clifford in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame; and Romeo and Orlando in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It. He was survived by his wife Caroline. The Howards had eight children, of which only three survived their parents. Adelia Ann Howard was born on May 10, 1846, and died five months later on October 24. George Cunnabell Howard Jr. was born on November 9, 1849, and died February 1, 1850. John Green Howard was born on March 18, 1851, and died at age 12 on December 5, 1863. James Fox Howard was born on November 10, 1853, and died on April 7, 1855. Charles Lafayette Howard was born on May 10, 1856, and died at sea on June 12, 1884, while on a cruise to Europe.

Caroline Emily Fox Howard was born on May 10, 1829, at Boston, Massachusetts. She continued to play Topsy in various productions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin until her husband’s death in 1887. Caroline died in Cambridge on October 8, 1908.

George P. Howard sold the family's papers to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin in 1963. Among the papers are the original manuscripts for stage production of Uncle Tom's Cabin by George Aiken, playbills, scrapbooks, photographs, memoirs, and some of the Howard family script library.