COLLEY, a dramatic writer, and poet-laureate to George II., was the son of Caius Gabriel Cibber, a distinguished German sculptor, and was born in London in 1671. At the age of eleven he was sent to the free school of Grantham in Lincolnshire, where he was educated, and whence he returned to London in 1687. In the following year he joined the army of the Prince of Orange as a volunteer; but in 1689 he left the service and betook himself to the stage, where at first he met with very indifferent success, acting originally for a salary of ten and afterwards of fifteen shillings a-week. In course of time he gradually rose in his profession, till in 1711 he became joint patentee in the management of Drury Lane, and distinguished himself especially by his impersonations of old men and fops. On the death of Ensdien the poet-laureate in 1730, Cibber was appointed to succeed him in that office. On this occasion he retired from the stage; to which however he was tempted to return from time to time by an offer of fifty guineas a night. In 1757, shortly after he had completed his 86th year, he was found dead in his bed on the morning of December 12th. Cibber's principal comedies are entitled "Love's last Shift," "Love makes a Man," "She would and She would not," "The Nonjuror" (founded on the Tartuffe of Molière), and "The Careless Husband," which in spirit and finish is superior to all the others. His "Apology" for his life is interesting and humorous, and throws much light on contemporary social history. It has often been reprinted.