Richard Steele

Richard Steele was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, who co-founded the magazine The Spectator with his friend Joseph Addison. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1672 to a wealthy attorney and his wife. He lost both his parents at a young age and was raised by his uncle and aunt, who provided him with a liberal education. He attended Charterhouse School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he met Addison. He left the university without a degree and joined the army, where he rose to the rank of captain. He also began his writing career, publishing a moralistic tract called The Christian Hero in 1701. He wrote several comedies for the stage, such as The Funeral, The Tender Husband, and The Conscious Lovers. He also wrote political pamphlets and essays, often using the pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff. He was a staunch supporter of the Whig party and the Hanoverian succession, which brought him into conflict with the Tory administration. He was elected to the Parliament several times, but also expelled for his controversial writings. He was knighted by King George I in 1715 and appointed as manager of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He had a turbulent personal life, marked by debts, lawsuits, and quarrels. He married twice, first to Mary Scurlock, who died in 1718, and then to Prue Steele, who survived him. He had eight children, four of whom died young. He retired to Wales in 1724 and died in 1729, aged 57. He was buried at St Peter's Church in Carmarthen. He is remembered as one of the most influential and witty writers of the Augustan age, who helped shape the English prose style and the culture of politeness and sociability.