Richard Steele
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- This is about Richard Steele, Irish writer and politician; for others, see Richard Steele (disambiguation) page.
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 1705, Steele married a widow, Margaret Stretch, who died in the following year. At her funeral he met his second wife, Mary Scurlock, whom he nicknamed "Prue" and married in 1707. 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, but their relationship was stormy. Mary died in 1718, at a time when she was considering separation. Their daughter, Elizabeth (Steele's only surviving legitimate child), 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.
Steele remained in Carmarthen after Mary's death, and was buried there, at St Peter's Church. During restoration of the church in 2000, his skull was discovered in a lead casket, having previously been accidentally disinterred during the 1870s.
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| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Barrymore George Dashwood |
Member of Parliament for Stockbridge with Thomas Brodrick 1713–1714 |
Succeeded by Thomas Brodrick The Earl of Barrymore |
| Preceded by Sir Brian Stapylton, Bt Edmund Dunch |
Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge with Thomas Wilkinson 1715–1718, Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Bt 1718–1722 1715–1722 |
Succeeded by Conyers Darcy James Tyrrell |
| Preceded by Sir Roger Hill Richard Grenville |
Member of Parliament for Wendover with Richard Hampden 1722–1727 |
Succeeded by Richard Hampden The Viscount of Limerick |
