25 Facts About Richard Steele

Steele was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1671 to Richard Steele, a wealthy attorney, and Elinor Symes ; his sister Katherine was born the previous year.

Richard Steele was the grandson of Sir William Steele, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and his first wife Elizabeth Godfrey.

Richard Steele's father lived at Mountown House, Monkstown, County Dublin.

Richard Steele's father died when he was four, and his mother a year later.

Richard Steele was commissioned in 1697, and rose to the rank of captain within two years.

Richard Steele's first published work, The Christian Hero, attempted to point out the differences between perceived and actual masculinity.

The Christian Hero was ultimately ridiculed for what some thought was hypocrisy because Richard Steele did not necessarily follow his own preaching.

Richard Steele was criticized for publishing a booklet about morals when he himself enjoyed drinking, occasional duelling, and debauchery around town.

Richard Steele wrote a comedy that same year titled The Funeral.

Richard Steele left the army in 1705, perhaps due to the death of the 34th Foot's commanding officer, Lord Lucas, which limited his opportunities of promotion.

Also in 1705, Richard Steele married a widow, Margaret Stretch, who died in the following year.

Richard Steele wrote The Tender Husband with contributions from Addison, and later that year wrote the prologue to The Mistake, by John Vanbrugh, an important member of the Kit-Kat Club.

In 1706 Richard Steele was appointed to a position in the household of Prince George of Denmark, consort of Anne, Queen of Great Britain.

Richard Steele gained the favour of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford.

Richard Steele edited this periodical under the pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff and gave the Bickerstaff character an entire, fully developed personality.

Richard Steele described his motive in writing The Tatler as "to expose the false arts of life, to pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity, and affectation, and to recommend a general simplicity in our dress, our discourse, and our behaviour".

Addison and Richard Steele then founded The Spectator in 1711 and The Guardian in 1713.

Richard Steele had an illegitimate child, Elizabeth Ousley, whom he later adopted.

Richard Steele became a Whig Member of Parliament in 1713, for Stockbridge.

Richard Steele was expelled for issuing a pamphlet in favour of the Hanoverian succession.

Richard Steele wrote a preface to Addison's 1716 comedy play The Drummer.

Richard Steele fell out with Addison and with the government administration over the Peerage Bill, and in 1724 he retired to his second wife's homeland of Wales, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Richard Steele was buried in Carmathen at St Peter's Church.

Richard Steele plays a minor role in the novel The History of Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackeray.

Thackeray depicts Richard Steele in glowing terms as a warm, generous, talented mentor who befriends the title character in his youth and remains loyal to him for years despite their political differences.