Joseph Richardson (1755–1803) was an English author and politician. Joseph Richardson Newton

Life

Born at Hexham,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, he was the only child of Joseph Richardson, a tradesman there. He was educated at Haydon Bridge school, and admitted sizar at St John's College, Cambridge, on 4 July 1774. His father's means were insufficient for the complete education of his son, and the cost of his residence at college was borne by a titled lady of Northumberland who discovered his talents, but in 1778 she cut off her contributions. Although he was readmitted as pensioner on 25 September 1780, he left the university without taking a degree. Richardson, intended as he was for the church, entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

on 24 March 1781, where he was duly called to the bar. In London he in fact concentrated on journalism, and after appearing as counsel in a few contested election petitions, gave up the legal profession. Richardson's earliest journalistic post was on the staff of ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'', then still a Whig paper, and he later became one of its proprietors. While connected with the ''Post'' he fought a duel in Hyde Park with

Sir Henry Bate Dudley The Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley, 1st Baronet (25 August 1745 – 1 February 1824) was a British minister, magistrate and playwright. He was born in Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, but in 1763 his father moved the family to Essex to take up a Rec ...

, and was wounded in the right arm. He also contributed letters, signed "Englishman", to a paper called ''The Citizen''. Richard Wilson, Member of Parliament for and an old friend, introduced Richardson to the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke o ...

. The Duke's influence brought him the seat of Newport in Cornwall in Parliament, from 1796 until his death. He never had the confidence to speak in the House of Commons. For many years Richard assisted

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', '' The ...

in the management of Drury Lane Theatre, and ultimately acquired a share in the property. (The money for this purchase was mainly from the Duke of Northumberland, and on Richardson's death the Duke cancelled the loan.) His comedy, ''The Fugitive'', was brought out at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket by the Drury Lane Company with success on 20 April 1792, and, when printed, passed through three editions. The prologue was by Richard Tickell and the epilogue by

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

. Richardson also wrote the prologue to the ''Glorious First of June'', the after-piece which was acted at Drury Lane on 2 July 1794 for the benefit of the widows and children of the sailors who died at the naval battle of that name. Despite failing health, Richardson stuck to the rigorous parliamentary life. One night he remained in the House of Commons until five o'clock in the morning to record his vote in the small minority with

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

. He then went to the Wheatsheaf Inn, near

Virginia Water Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its n ...

, and died on 9 June 1803. He was buried in

Egham Egham ( ) is a university town in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. First settled in the Bronze Age, the town was under the control of Chertsey Abbey for much of the Middle Ages. In 1215, Magna ...

churchyard on 13 June.

Works

As a satirist, Richard was best known for his contributions to the '' Rolliad'' and the ''Probationary'' odes—publications each of which passed through 21 editions. For the former Richardson wrote Nos. 4, 10, and 11 in part i. and 3 and 4 in part ii.; while for the latter he wrote Nos. 4 and 19, the ''Delavaliad'', other poems, and much of the prose. He wrote many other fugitive pieces for the Whigs, and contributed to the ''Political Miscellanies'' (1790). His best-known satire was entitled ''Jekyll, an Eclogue'' (see under

Joseph Jekyll Sir Joseph Jekyll (166319 August 1738), of Westminster, was a British barrister, judge and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons for 40 years from 1697 to 1738. He became Master of the Rolls in 1717. Early lif ...

). He published for his party in 1787 an anonymous pamphlet, called ''The complete Investigation of Mr. Eden's Treaty'', which embodied reputable commercial statistics. Sarah Richardson published by subscription ''Literary Relics of the late Joseph Richardson'' (1807). This included the play ''The Fugitive'', a few short poems, and a sketch of his life, written by John Taylor. Some letters by Richardson are in

Samuel Parr Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...

's ''Works'' and in

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

's ''Sheridan''.

Family

Richardson's wife Sarah, a relative of

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include "When I Survey the ...

, survived him, with four daughters.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Joseph 1755 births 1803 deaths English male journalists English dramatists and playwrights Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple People from Hexham Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Newport (Cornwall) British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newport (Cornwall) UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets