Joseph Addison

ADDISON, Joseph. b. Milston, near Aylesbury, Wiltshire, 1 May 1672; d. Kensington, London, 17 June 1719. He was the son of a clergyman who became Dean of Lichfield. He was educated at Charterhouse and (after a period at Queen’s College) Magdalen College, Oxford (BA 1691, MA 1693). He became a prominent man of letters: he first made his name with a poem, The Campaign, written in 1704 to celebrate the Duke of Marlborough’s victory at Blenheim. He was extremely active politically in Whig circles, becoming a Member of Parliament and an Under-Secretary of State. As a writer, he was best known for his collaboration with his school-fellow (Sir) Richard Steele in The Tatler (1709-11) and in The...

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