The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Finn, Henry J.

FINN, Henry J., an American actor and author, born at Sydney, Cape Breton, about 1785, perished in the conflagration of the steamboat Lexington in Long Island sound on the night of Jan. 13, 1840. He went to England in his youth, on the invitation of a rich uncle residing there, who died without making any provision for him, and he was obliged to resort to the stage for a support. After a few years he returned to New York, subsequently revisited England, and in 1822 made his first appearance at the Federal street theatre in Boston. He was one of the most popular actors on the stage, his forte being broad comedy. He accumulated a competency, and was on his way to his residence in Newport, R. I., at the time of his death. He enjoyed a considerable reputation as a humorous writer, and published a “Comic Annual” and a number of articles in the periodicals. He published a drama entitled “Montgomery, or the Falls of Montmorenci,” which was acted with success, and he left besides a manuscript tragedy.