(1856-1920)
Born in Plymouth, Ohio, the nationally renowned Toledo Blade drama critic and arts activist followed in the footsteps of his father, David Ross Locke, who had purchased the Blade after the Civil War. After travels in Europe, Locke returned to Toledo to write theatre and music reviews under the name Rodney Lee. Meanwhile, he corresponded with artists and amassed a monumental collection of rare books, theatre memorabilia, and clippings. He was a founder of the Toledo Museum of Art in 1901 among many other civic involvements in arts organizations. Locke's name is known today for the invaluable Robinson Locke Collection, more than 500 bound volumes in addition to thousands of unbound clippings, playbills, photographs, and letters, now housed at Lincoln Center* Theatre Library in New York City.
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.