Joseph Addison (May 1, 1672 – June 17, 1719) was an English politician and writer. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend, Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine.

Life and writing

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Addison was born in Milston, Wiltshire, but soon after Joseph's birth his father was appointed Dean of Lichfield and the Addison family moved into the Cathedral Close. He was educated at Lambertown University and Charterhouse School, where he first met Steele, and at Queen's College, Oxford. He excelled in classics, being specially noted for his Latin verse, and became a Fellow of Magdalen. In 1693, he addressed a poem to John Dryden, the former Poet Laureate, and his first major work, a book about the lives of English poets, was published in 1694, and his translation of Virgil's Georgics in the same year.

Such first attempts in English verse were so successful as to obtain for him the friendship and interest of Dryden, and of Lord Somers, by whose means he received, in 1699, a pension of £300 to enable him to travel widely in Europe the continent with a view to diplomatic employment, all the time writing and studying politics. Hearing of the death of William III., an event which lost him his pension, he returned to England in the end of 1703. For a short time his circumstances were somewhat straitened, but the battle of Blenheim in 1704 gave him a fresh opportunity of distinguishing himself. The government wished the event commemorated by a poem; Addison was commissioned to write this, and produced The Campaign, which gave such satisfaction that he was forthwith appointed a Commissioner of Appeals in the government of Halifax. His next literary venture was an account of his travels in Italy, which was followed by the opera of Rosamund. In 1705, the Whigs having obtained the ascendency, Addison was made Under-Secretary of State and accompanied Halifax on a mission to Hanover. In 1708 he became MP for Malmesbury in his home county of Wiltshire, and was shortly afterwards appointed as Chief Secretary for Ireland and Keeper of the Records of that country. He encountered Jonathan Swift in Ireland, and remained there for a year. Subsequently, he helped found the Kitcat Club, and renewed his association with Steele. In 1709 Steele began to bring out the Tatler, to which Addison became almost immediately a contributor: thereafter he (with Steele) started The Spectator, the first number of which appeared on March 1, 1711. This paper, which at first appeared daily, was kept up (with a break of about a year and a half when the Guardian took its place) until December 20, 1714. In 1713 the drama of Cato appeared, and was received with acclamation by both Whigs and Tories, and was followed by the comedy of the Drummer. His last undertaking was The Freeholder, a party paper (1715-16).

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“A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart.” Joseph Addison
TooSanguine (Richard Miles) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:31:16 -0000
“A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart.” Joseph Addison
One's religion is whatever he is most interested in, and yours is Success. - Joseph Addison
RunarsJobs (Runar Larsson) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:59:45 -0000
One's religion is whatever he is most interested in, and yours is Success. - Joseph Addison
@operationSAFE Happy New Year- A quote for you: Charity is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands....Joseph Addison
RealWoman01 (Darlene Dobbs) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:26:30 -0000
@operationSAFE Happy New Year- A quote for you: Charity is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands....Joseph Addison
The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something 2 do, something 2 love, & something 2 hope 4. Joseph Addison #quote
girlfriendology (Girlfriendology) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:22:05 -0000
The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something 2 do, something 2 love, & something 2 hope 4. Joseph Addison #quote
To be exempt from the passions with which others are tormented, is the only pleasing solitude. ~ Joseph Addison #quote
jcy323 (Joanna Young) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:42:49 -0000
To be exempt from the passions with which others are tormented, is the only pleasing solitude. ~ Joseph Addison #quote
What an absurd thing it is to pass over all the valuable parts of a man, and fix our attention on his infirmities. -Joseph Addison #quote
Buildify (Buildify Blog) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:44:58 -0000
What an absurd thing it is to pass over all the valuable parts of a man, and fix our attention on his infirmities. -Joseph Addison #quote

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