Addison, Joseph (1672-1719), was an English author and politician. He is best known for his collaboration with Sir Richard Steele in writing and publishing The Spectator, a series of 555 popular essays published in 1711 and 1712. These essays were intended to improve manners and morals, raise the cultural level of the middle-class reader, and popularize serious ideas in science and philosophy. Most of the essays deal with social behavior, love and marriage, and literature. Addison wrote with charm and polish, and Steele with liveliness and feeling. See Steele, Sir Richard .
The Spectator became popular because it expressed in a natural but sophisticated manner the ideals admired by its readers. The essays also gave middle-class readers a pleasant sense of self-improvement in manners and taste. To add to the interest of the essays, Addison and Steele introduced a set of representative English characters. The most famous of these characters was the simple but delightful country squire, Sir Roger de Coverley.
Addison also contributed to The Tatler (1709-1711), a periodical started by Steele. Addison’s verse tragedy, Cato (1713), ran for a month on the London stage and was admired for its patriotic sentiments.
Addison was born on May 1, 1672, in Milston in Wiltshire. While attending Oxford University from 1687 to 1699, he earned a reputation as a classical scholar. He was rather reserved, but his personal charm and wit won him powerful friends in London. Addison entered politics after achieving sensational success with a patriotic poem, “The Campaign” (1704), which described the English victory in the Battle of Blenheim. He served in Parliament from 1708 until his death and also held several government appointments. In 1717, Addison was appointed secretary of state. Illness forced him to resign in 1718. He died on June 17, 1719.
