Joseph Addison
Born: May 1, 1672, Milston (near Amesbury), Wiltshire, England.
Died: June 17, 1719, Holland House, Kensington, England.
Buried: Westminster Abbey, London, England.
Son of Lancelot Addison, sometime Dean of Lichfield and author of Devotional
Poems, Joseph attended the Charterhouse, and Magdalen College, Oxford (BA
1691, MA 1693). Although intended for the Church, he studied law and politics,
and soon attained, through powerful influence, some important posts. He was
successively a Commissioner of Appeals, Under Secretary of State, Secretary to
the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Chief Secretary for Ireland. He married the
Dowager Countess of Warwick in 1716.
Addison is best known for his contributions to the newspapers
The Spectator (where his hymns appeared), The Tatler, The
Guardian, and The Freeholder. He also wrote the tragedy Cato.
Hymns