JOSEPH ADDISON (1704)

Essayist, poet, dramatist, and statesman who, with Richard Steele, was a leading contributor and guiding spirit of the periodicals The Tatler and The Spectator.


Abstract of text biography. The son of a distinguished clergyman, Addison matriculated at Queen´s College, Oxford (1687), and took an M.A. degree at Magdalen College (1693). During the next 10 years he served as tutor at Magdalen, published English and Latin verse, and toured Europe (1699-1704). Addison returned to London, where he began his civil service career and published The Campaign (1705), a poem concerning the British victory over the French at Blenheim. He was appointed undersecretary of state for southern affairs (1705), became a member of Parliament (1708), and held major posts in Ireland (1708-10). He contributed to Richard Steele´s Tatler (founded 1709), and in 1711, with Steele, established The Spectator. Addison´s tragic drama, Cato, was successfully produced in 1713. He was appointed secretary of state en 1717.