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Article: Steele, Richard (1672–1729)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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STEELE, RICHARD (1672
–
1729)
STEELE, RICHARD
(1672
–
1729), English essayist and dramatist. Steele's name is associated with that of Joseph Addison, with whom he collaborated. Born in poor circumstances in Dublin, Steele was brought up by his aunt and uncle, Lady Katherine Mildmay and Henry Gascoigne. His extended family were influential Protestant gentry, but little is known of his parents. At fourteen, Steele went to the Charterhouse School, where he met Addison.
In 1689 Steele went to Oxford University, where he did not take a degree but joined the second troop of Life Guards in 1692. His first publication was a poem on the death of Queen Mary II in 1694; it was ...