Philip Henslowe was the owner of a few prominent playhouses and a financial keeper for some of the best acting companies in England. He was born in 1550 in Linfield, Sussex, and died on January 6, 1616 in London. Henslowe was also well known for his diary, which holds a record of almost all of the major plays that were performed in this era. It also provided significant information that historians used to discover the chronological geographies of theatrical and non-theatrical business endeavors during the Elizabethan era. In 1587, Henslowe built the Rose Theatre in Bankside, London, which was a dual-purpose venue for Bear Baiting and plays. It was the first public theater in the area that played the tragedies of Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd. Henslowe also built and managed The Hope Theatre. Henslowe was one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Elizabethan Era. He was responsible for pawnbroking and finances for all his venues. Some described Henslowe as illiterate, moneyed, old, or fraudulent, but there is no doubt that he was a businessman first.

Henslowe, Philip