Information AboutRichard Steele |
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Sir Richard Steele (bap. March 12 , 1672 – September 1 , 1729 ) was an Irish writer and politician, remembered, along with his friend, Joseph Addison , as co-founder of '' The Spectator '' magazine. Steele was born in Dublin , Ireland , and educated at Charterhouse School , where he first met Addison. He went on to Merton College, Oxford , then with joined the Life Guards of the Household Cavalry . He disliked British Army life, and his first published work, ''The Christian Hero'' (1701), attempted to point out the differences between perceived and actual masculinity. He afterwards became a dramatist, and his comedies, such as ''The Tender Husband'' (1703) met with some success. In 1706 he was appointed to a position in the household of Prince George Of Denmark , consort of Anne Of Great Britain . He also gained the favour of Robert Harley , Earl Of Oxford . In 1706, Steele's first wife died, and he married, the following year, Mary Scurlock , whom he nicknamed "Prue". In the course of their courtship and marriage, he wrote her over 400 letters. They were a devoted couple, their correspondence still being regarded as one of the best illustrations of a happy marriage. Mary died in 1718 . Their daughter, Elizabeth, married John Trevor, 3rd Baron Trevor . In 1709, Steele founded a thrice-weekly satirical magazine, ''Tatler'', which lasted only two years in its first incarnation. Addison was a frequent contributor. Following the demise of the ''Tatler'', the pair founded ''The Spectator''. A member of the Whig Kit-Kat Club , Steele became a Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1713, but was soon suspended for issuing a pamphlet in favour of the Hanoverian succession. When George I Of Great Britain came to the throne in the following year, Steele was knighted and given responsibility for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , London. However, he fell out with Addison and with the administration over the Peerage Bill (1719), and retired to his wife's homeland of Wales , where he spent the remainder of his life. He remained in Carmarthen after Mary's death, and was buried there, at St Peter's Church. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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