Joseph Addison 1809 AlexanderJoseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician who lived from 1 May 1672 to 17 June 1719. He was The Reverend Lancelot Addison's oldest child. He co-founded The Spectator magazine with his lifelong friend Richard Steele, andtheir names are frequently paired together when discussing him. The 17th century's quirks and customary classical pictures came to an end with his straightforward literary style. Joseph Addison was an English poet and translator of Virgil's works. He was a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and studied at Charterhouse School, London. In 1693 he addressed a poem to John Dryden, and his first major work, a book of poets' lives, was published in 1694. Lord Halifax sent Joseph Addison along with him as Under-Secretary of State on a diplomatic mission to Hanover, Germany. Between 1709 and 1713, he represented Cavan Borough as an MP in the Irish House of Commons. Addison penned Cato, a Tragedy, his most well-known composition, in 1712. It deals with tensions like individual liberty versus governmental tyranny and is based on Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis' final days. Read More Read Less