1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Sims, George Robert

SIMS, GEORGE ROBERT (1847–), English journalist and dramatic author, was born on the 2nd of September 1847. He was educated at Hanwell College and at Bonn, and commenced journalism in 1874 as successor to Tom Hood on Fun. His first play, Crutch and Toothpick, was produced at the Royalty Theatre in April 1879, and was followed by a number of plays of which he was author or part-author. After long runs at west end houses, many of these became stock pieces in suburban and provincial theatres. His most famous melodramas were: The Lights of London (Princess's theatre, September 1881), which ran for nearly a year; In the Ranks (Adelphi, Oct. 1883), written with H. Pettit, which ran for 457 nights; Harbour Lights (1885), which ran for 513 nights; Two Little Vagabonds (Princess's Theatre, 1896–1897). He was part-author with Cecil Raleigh of the burlesque opera, Little Christopher Columbus (1893), and among his musical plays were Blue-eyed Susan (Prince of Wales's, 1892) and The Dandy Fifth (Birmingham, 1898). His early volumes of light verse were very popular, notably The Dagonet Ballads (1882), reprinted from the Referee. How the Poor Live (1883) and his articles on the housing of the poor in the Daily News helped to arouse public opinion on the subject, which was dealt with in the act of 1885.