F. F. MacKay

Frank Findley MacKay was born on July 20, 1832, in Upper Canada, in the region now known as Ontario, Canada. His parents, Francie MacKay and Elizabeth Findley, were of Scottish origin and had previously settled in New York City before relocating to Canada to escape the cholera epidemic of 1832. MacKay went on to become an American actor and author whose career spanned decades of the American stage.

MacKay began his theatrical career in 1848 at the Arch Street repertory theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His Broadway career extended from 1886 to 1904 and included appearances in The Triumph of Love, A Fool of Fortune, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Mr. Barnes of New York, and The Main Line; or, Rawson's Y. In 1916, he was recognized as the oldest living Broadway actor.

Beyond performing, MacKay made contributions to the theatrical profession as an author and organizational leader. He founded the National Congress of Dramatic Art and served as both vice president and chairman of the executive committee of the Actors Fund of America. In 1913, he published The Art of Acting.

In 1863, MacKay married Elizabeth J. Sneathan, and the couple had three children: Charles Donald, Edward, and William Andrew MacKay. He died on May 6, 1923, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, at the home of his son Charles, at the age of ninety.