Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Richard Brinsley Sheridan ( born October 30, 1751 Dublin, † July 7 1816 in London) was an Irish playwright and politician.

Life

Richard Brinsley Sheridan was born as the third son of the actor and creator of the dictionary Thomas Sheridan ( † 1788 in Margate ( Kent )) and the writer Frances Sheridan. 1762 the family moved to London. Sheridan's mother died when he was fifteen years old.

After schooling at Harrow School he started in the Middle Temple to study law. His relationship with actress Elizabeth Linley, who worked at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and though the circumstances of their marriage in 1773 prepared such plans to an end. After returning to London he began to write for the stage, and bought with two friends the Drury Lane Theatre. His first play, The Rivals, was premiered in 1775 in Covent Garden. It initially had little success, but developed after a short time, become an integral part of the English literary canon. His most famous piece, The School for Scandal, 1777 appeared, is still regarded as one of the greatest comedies in the English language. Even his 1779 published work, The Critic was rated very positively.

In addition to his literary career, Sheridan was also politically active. He was elected in 1780 for the Whigs in parliament, where he is a gifted public speaker to one of the leaders of his party. Under Charles James Fox he was only Under Secretary and then Finance Minister. Famous is his Begum 's speech, in which he accuses the former Governor of West Bengal, Warren Hastings because of injustices against Indian Begum. After Pitt's death in 1806 he was Secretary of the Navy ( Treasurer of the Navy ). He died in 1816 and was buried in Westminster.

Sheridan's house in London had a literary afterlife. Jules Verne took it in his novel around the world as a model for the accommodation of Phileas Fogg and his servant Passepartout in 80 days.