Richard Steele（1672—1729）

Sir Richard Steele, English essayist and playwright, was born in Dublin. He was educated at Charterhouse and Merton College, Oxford. Steele entered the army in 1694 and rose to the rank of captain by 1700. During these years of military service in London, Steele became acquainted with a circle of literary and artistic figures, and he began to write. Steele's fame rests on his founding of The Tatler（1709—1711）and The Spectator（1711—1712）, forerunners of modern journalism, the writing of which was joined by his close friend Joseph Addison. In 1714 he became governor of Drury Lane Theatre, where he produced The Conscious Lovers（1723）, one of the century's most popular plays and perhaps the best example of English sentimental comedy. Steele's first play, a moral tract, The Christian Hero（1701）was followed by three comedies The Funeral（1701）, The Lying Lover（1703）, and The Tender Husband（1705）. Politically, he was a zealous Whig, and his fortunes varied with the fortunes of his party. He was knighted in 1715. Steele retired in ill health to his estate in Wales and died in Carmarthenshire.