John, a celebrated dramatic writer, born in Nova Scotia, where his father was a minister. Being impatient of the gloomy restraint of that country, he came to England, where he was reduced to enter into the service of an old lady; of which he was soon as weary as he had been of America. He then had recourse to his pen, which quickly procured him favour at court: but this kind of subsistence proving precarious, he ventured to solicit Charles II. for some establishment. Charles promised to provide for him, but insisted first on having another comedy; and suggested to him the plan of a Spanish play, from which Crowne produced the comedy of Sir Courty Nice: but the sudden death of the king on the last day of the rehearsal, plunged him at once from his pleasing expectations into disappointment and distress, and left him no resource but his wits. He died some time about the year 1703; and left behind him 17 tragedies and comedies, some of which are acted with great success. His chief excellence lay in comedy; yet his tragedies are far from being contemptible. His plots are for the most part his own invention; his characters are in general strongly coloured and highly finished; and his dialogue lively and spirited, attentively diversified, and well adapted to the several speakers. So that on the whole he may assuredly be allowed to stand at least in the third rank of our dramatic writers.