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A celebrated English essayist and poet; born at Milston, Wiltshire, May 1, 1672; died in London, June 17, 1719. He was educated at Oxford. He was Under-Secretary of State in 1706, and in 1709 secretary to Wharton, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, where he formed a friendship with Swift. In 1716 he married the Countess of Warwick; in 1717 was appointed Secretary of State, but resigned in 1718. He wrote 41 original papers in the Tatler, and 34 with Steele; 274 in the Spectator, embodying his famous creation. the character of Sir Roger de Coverley; 51 essays in the Guardian, which succeeded the Spectator; 24 to a revived Spectator, and 2 to Steele's "Lover". His tragedy "Cato" was acted at Drury Lane in 1713; although it is weak and incongruous, it was greatly admired and variously translated. Besides Latin poems, occasional addresses, and political essays, the following works deserve mention: "Letter from Italy", a poem (1703); "The Campaign" (1704).