Joseph Addison & Richard Steele

Gazette. Addison was not from a particularly wealthy or noble family, either, but the Addisons were well-placed in the power structure of the Church of England, the official state church. Addison’s father Lancelot was the chaplain of the English garrison at Tangier, in Morocco, and would later become the Dean of the cathedral at Lichfield. One of Addison’s brothers became the English governor of Madras, in India. Joseph Addison seems to have been identified early on as someone who would have a significant public career. After finishing his degree at Oxford, he was sent on a grand tour of the continent at government expense, and would go on to be a member of Parliament (he was essentially given a seat there; he did not have to campaign) and a cabinet minister.