Clare Tree Major

Clare Tree Major (1880–October 10, 1954) was an English-born actress, stage director, playwright, and producer who became a significant figure in American theater. Born in England, she emigrated to the United States in 1914, initially joining the Washington Square Players in New York. She holds the distinction of being the first British actress to tour America from coast to coast.

Major's Broadway career included an appearance in 1916 in Caliban of the Yellow Sands. Her early work in the United States built on a foundation of stage experience she had developed first in London before crossing the Atlantic.

Beginning in the 1920s, Major redirected her professional focus entirely toward theater for young audiences, writing plays and organizing professional touring productions to bring them to children across the country. In 1924, she established the Children's Theatre of New York, and the following year she produced The Little Poor Man. She went on to found the Clare Tree Major Theatre Company in 1927, based in Pleasantville, New York.

In her personal life, Major was married to publisher John D. Kenderdine, and the couple made their home in Westchester County, New York. She died on October 10, 1954, in Manhattan at the age of 74. Her papers, spanning the years 1912 to 1954, are preserved in the collection of the New York Public Library.