Author, Statesman. John Howard Payne received notoriety as an American author, poet and lyricist, writing the lyrics to the 1823 song, “Home, Sweet Home.” His colleague and composer Sir Henry Rowely Bishop wrote the musical score to “Home, Sweet Home,” and in 1828 composed an opera using this song. Born the son of a teacher, William Payne, who was of an old Massachusetts family, he was the sixth in a family of nine children. Although his father encouraged him to follow in a business, his interest was more to the theater and writing. At the age of 14 he started his journal of theatrical criticism, “The Thespian Mirror,” which caught the eye of the Editor of the “New York Evening Post,” William Coleman. In 1806 he entered Union College and published numerous periodicals, “The Pastime.” With no funding for college he left in 1808 for the stage and debuted on February 24, 1809 in the role of Norvall in John Holmes' play “Douglas” at the Park Theatre in New York, receiving outstanding reviews. After performing in major northeastern cities in United States, he went, in the middle of the War of 1812, to London in June of 1813. He appeared in his same role in “Douglas” on Drury Lane successfully, which followed with touring Europe in the same production. While in Paris, he learned about French drama, using that for 60 of his plays. Washington Irvin collaborated with him in two of his best plays, one being “Charles, the Second” in 1824. Considered his best play and lasting for 70 years, was “Brutus,” which opened on December 3, 1818 at Drury Lane in London. He began to write dramas, contributing to the productions by Bishop, in particular the 1823 opera “Clari,the Maid of Milan,” which contained the song “Home, Sweet Home.” With poor copyright laws, he never received royalties for his contributions to this opera and many of his other plays. During his twenty-year theatrical career in Europe, he often sold his ownership to plays for a basic income to live, hence never received any money for later popularity. In 1932, he returned penniless to the United States, but b enefit performances of his plays in United States raised nearly $10,000 , which paid his mounting debts. At this point, he began to write for various periodicals freelancing. After an assignment to New Orleans, he traveled through the State of Georgia witnessing the poor treatment of the Cherokee Tribe after the Relocation Act of 1830. At one point, as an outsider, he was imprisoned for a short time for being a spy in 1835. He published accounts that suggested the Cherokee Tribe as one of the Ten Lost Tribes of ancient Israel. He wrote “Indian Justice: A Cherokee Murder Trial at Tahlequah in 1840,” which first appeared in 1841 in two installments in the newspaper, the “New York Journal of Commerce” and is still in print in the 21st century. This led to his recognition in Washington D.C. On August 23, 1842 he was appointed by President John Tyler as United States Ambassador to Tunis, a country in north Africa on the Mediterranean Sea. In his years as Ambassador, he restored the dilapidated consul’s residence and formally recorded the country's history. When President Polk came to office, he was removed from his post. After a year's tour of Europe, he returned to the United States and lobbied for his return to Tunis. In May of 1851, he returned to Tunis after accepting a second appointment by President Millard Fillmore, and was there when he died. His body was returned to the United States for burial. He was the great-grandfather of motion picture actor John Payne.