Stanley McCandless (1897-1967) is considered to be the first theatrical lighting design educator.

George Pierce Baker (1866-1935), whom he had known from Harvard, invited McCandless to teach at Yale in 1925. In 1926 he offered the first stage lighting design class, which he continued to teach until 1964. Some of his prominent students included Jean Rosenthal and Tharon Musser.

Besides teaching the first lighting design class, McCandless is known for having written A Method of Lighting the Stage (1932), in which he proposes one of the first systematic methods for theatrical lighting. He also wrote A Glossary of Stage Lighting (1926) and A Syllabus of Stage Lighting (1927).

Jean Rosenthal has attributed him as being "the granddaddy of us all" as lighting designers.

References

1897 births | 1967 deaths | Lighting designers