Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (born October 30, 1751 in Dublin , † July 7, 1816 in London ) was an Irish playwright and politician .
Life
Richard Brinsley Sheridan was born the third son of the actor and dictionary author Thomas Sheridan († 1788 in Margate (Kent) ) and the writer Frances Sheridan. In 1762 the family moved to London. Sheridan's mother died when he was fifteen years old.
After attending Harrow School, he began studying law at Middle Temple . However, his relationship with actress Elizabeth Linley, who worked at the Theater Royal Drury Lane , and the circumstances of her marriage in 1773 put an end to such plans. After returning to London, he began writing for the stage and bought the Drury Lane Theater with two friends. His first play, The Rivals , premiered in Covent Garden in 1775 . At first it had little success, but after a short time it developed into an integral part of the English literary canon . His most famous play, The School for Scandal , published in 1777, is still considered one of the greatest comedies in the English language to this day. His work The Critic , published in 1779, was also rated quite positively.
In addition to his literary work, Sheridan was also politically active. He was elected to Parliament for the Whigs in 1780 , where he became one of the leading figures in his party as a gifted public speaker. Under Charles James Fox he was first Undersecretary in the State Department in 1782 and then Treasury Secretary in 1783 ("Secretary to the Treasury"). His Begum speech is famous , in which he accused the former Governor of East India , Warren Hastings, of injustices against Indian Begums . After William Pitt's death in 1806 he was Minister of the Navy ("Treasurer of the Navy"). Most recently he was a privy councilor and exercised his parliamentary mandate. Richard Brinsley Sheridan died in 1816 and was buried in Westminster .
Sheridan's house in London had a literary afterlife: Jules Verne took it as a model for the accommodation of Phileas Fogg and his servant Passepartout in his novel Around the World in 80 Days .
Publications (selection)
- The School for Scandal. Lipsius & Tischer, Kiel 1953
Web links
- Literature by and about Richard Brinsley Sheridan in the catalog of the German National Library
- Works by and about Richard Brinsley Sheridan in the German Digital Library
- Full text of Sheridan's works (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The little encyclopedia in 2 volumes. Second volume L – Z. Encyclios-Verlag, Zurich, 1950, page 607.
- ^ A b Cecil John Layton Price: Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Anglo-Irish playwright. In: britannica.com. Accessed February 28, 2019 .
- ^ Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816). In: thetheatrehistory.com. Accessed February 28, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sheridan, Richard Brinsley |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish playwright and politician, Member of the House of Commons |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 30, 1751 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dublin |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 7, 1816 |
| Place of death | London |