Richard Brinsley Sheridan
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Richard Brinsley Sheridan (October 30, 1751 – July 7, 1816) was an Irish playwright and Whig statesman.
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[edit] Early life
Sheridan was born in Dublin on October 30, 1751 at 12 Dorset Street, a fashionable street in the late eighteenth century. (Fellow playwright Sean O'Casey was born on Dorset Street 130 years later). He was baptized on November 4, 1751, his father Thomas Sheridan being an actor-manager who managed the Theatre Royal, Dublin for a time, and his mother, Frances Sheridan, a writer (most famous for her novel The Memoirs of Sidney Biddulph). She died when her son was fifteen.
[edit] Works
- The Rivals (first acted January 17, 1775)
- St Patrick's Day (first acted May 2, 1775)
- The Duenna (first acted November 21, 1775)
- A Trip to Scarborough (first acted February 24, 1777)
- The School for Scandal (first acted May 8, 1777)
- The Camp (first acted October 15, 1778)
- The Critic (first acted October 30, 1779)
- The Glorious First of June (first acted July 2, 1794)
- Pizarro (first acted May 24, 1799)
He also wrote a selection of poems, and political speeches for his time in parliament.
[edit] Career
Sheridan was educated at Harrow School, and was to study law. However, his highly romantic elopement with Elizabeth Linley (daughter of Thomas Linley), and their subsequent marriage in 1773, put paid to such hopes. When he returned to London, he began writing for the stage. His first play, The Rivals, produced at Covent Garden in 1775, was a failure on its first night. Sheridan cast a more capable actor for the role of the comic Irishman for its second performance, and it was a smash which immediately established the young playwright's reputation. It has gone on to become a standard of English literature.
Having quickly made his name and fortune, Sheridan bought a share in Drury Lane. His most famous play The School for Scandal (1777) is considered one of the greatest comedies of manners in English. It was followed by The Critic (1779), an updating of the satirical Restoration play The Rehearsal, which received a memorable revival (performed with Oedipus in a single evening) starring Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic Theatre in 1946.
[edit] Politics
Sheridan was also a Whig politician, entering parliament in 1780 under the sponsorship of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. A great public speaker, he remained in parliament until 1812, and was a leading figure in the party. He was the grandfather of society beauty and author Caroline Norton, and the great-grandfather of Lord Dufferin, third Governor General of Canada and eighth Viceroy of India. The famous ghost story writer Sheridan le Fanu was his great-nephew.
Upon his death, Sheridan was buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.
[edit] External links
- Works by Richard Brinsley Sheridan at Project Gutenberg
- Full text of Thomas Moore's Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honorable Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Vol. 1, Vol. 2
- Portraits of Richard Brinsley Sheridan at the National Portrait Gallery, London
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George Canning |
Treasurer of the Navy 1806–1807 |
Succeeded by George Rose |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Richard Whitworth |
Member of Parliament for Stafford 1780–1806 |
Succeeded by Richard Mansel-Philipps |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Earl Percy |
Member of Parliament for Westminster 1806–1807 |
Succeeded by Lord Cochrane |
| Preceded by Sir William Manners |
Member of Parliament for Ilchester 1807–1812 |
Succeeded by Lord Ward |
Categories: UK Whig politicians | Members of the Parliament of Great Britain | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from English constituencies | Irish dramatists and playwrights | Irish Anglicans | Old Harrovians | People from County Dublin | People from Dublin | 1751 births | 1816 deaths | People buried in Westminster Abbey
