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Sir Richard Steele
(1672–1729)

Other names: Isaac Bickerstaff (pseudonym)

Biographical

Knighted 1715

Governor of the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane 1714–20 (revoked)
MP for Boroughbridge, Yorkshire 1715
Surveyor of the royal stables at Hampton Court, 1714
MP for Stockbridge, Hampshire, 1713–14 (expelled)
A commissioner of stamps, 1710–13
Editor of the London Gazette, 1707
Gentleman waiter to Prince George of Denmark, 1706–1808
Army captain 1697
Private secretary to Lord Cutts

Sir Richard Steele was an English essayist, dramatist, and politician, whose name is inseparable from that of his friend Joseph Addison, though Steele’s reputation as an essayist, dramatist, and journalist often remains in Addison’s shadow. Educated at the Charterhouse and later at Oxford, where he became friends with Addison, Steele left university without a degree and entered the army, a move that cost him a substantial inheritance. He joined the Life Guards around 1692 and served until 1695 under the Duke of Ormond, then transferred to the Coldstream Guards in 1695, and was promoted to brevet captain in 1697. His early literary work, notably The Christian Hero (1701), aimed at promoting virtue in military life, brought mixed reactions and led him to try his hand at comedy with The Funeral and later The Conscious Lovers, works that reflected his commitment to combining wit and moral instruction. Steele’s most enduring contribution, however, was in journalism. As gazetteer, he became familiar with the power of the press, and in 1709 launched The Tatler, a periodical that innovatively blended news, social commentary, and essays on manners and morality. Though Addison contributed to the venture, Steele had already secured its success before his friend’s involvement. Their collaboration continued in The Spectator (1711–1712) and The Guardian (1713), with Steele often providing the original ideas that Addison refined. Politically, Steele was an ardent Whig and a passionate supporter of the principles of the Glorious Revolution. He used his pen vigorously in defence of Whig causes, founding numerous political papers such as The Englishman and The Plebeian, the latter leading to a public dispute with Addison over the Peerage Bill. Steele’s political commitment was not merely literary; he entered Parliament in 1713 as MP for Stockbridge but was expelled shortly afterwards for alleged seditious libel in his pamphlet The Crisis. Vindicated with the accession of George I, Steele was knighted in 1715 and rewarded with multiple posts, including surveyor of the royal stables and governor of the royal company of comedians. He also served as a commissioner of forfeited estates in Scotland following the Jacobite rebellion. Despite these honours, Steele’s generosity, impulsiveness, and penchant for display led to continual financial troubles. He retreated from public life in 1724 to his wife’s estate in Wales, where he died in 1729 after a paralytic stroke, leaving behind a significant legacy in both political journalism and moral essay writing, as well as a personal story marked by wit, warmth, and restlessness.

Place of birth: St Bride's parish, Dublin
Place of baptism: St Bride's parish, Dublin (1672)
Place of second marriage: St Mary Somerset, London
Place of death: Carmarthen, Carmathenshire, Wales
Place of burial: St Peter's Church, Carmathen

Son of Richard Steele and Elinor Symes, he was married firstly to Margaret Stretch in 1705, and secondly to Mary Scurlock  in 1707. He had issue by his second wife, and also illegitimate issue by Elizabeth Tonson.

List of works