| Steele | Addison |
|---|
| 1672. | March 12. Born in Dublin, Ireland. | 1672. | May 1. Born in Milston, England. |
| | 1683. | His father appointed Dean of Lichfield. |
| 1684. | November. Enters Charterhouse School. | 1683-85. | In the grammar school of Lichfield. |
| | 1686. | Entered the Charterhouse School. |
| | 1687. | Entered Queen's College, Oxford. |
| | 1689. | Obtained a scholarship in Magdalen College. |
| 1690. | Matriculates at Christ Church College, Oxford. |
| | 1693. | Received the degree of M. A. |
| 1694. | Leaves the University and enters the army as a cadet, under Lord Cutts. | 1694. | Printed An Account of the Greatest English Poets. |
| | | Translation of the Fourth Book of Virgil's Georgics. |
| 1695. | Publishes The Procession, a poem on the death of Queen Mary. | 1695. | Address to King William. |
| Secretary to Lord Cutts, and Ensign in the Coldstream Guards | 1698. | Made fellow of Magdalen College |
| | 1699. | Latin Poems. |
| | | Receives a pension of £300 a year. |
| | 1699-1703. | On the continent. |
| 1700. | Referred to as "Captain." |
| 1701. | April. Publishes The Christian Hero. |
| December. Publishes The Funeral. |
| 1702. | Captain in Lord Lucas' Fusiliers. | 1702. | His pension lapses. |
| | 1703. | Returns to England. |
| 1704. | January. Publishes The Lying Lover. 1704. Publishes The Campaign; appointed Commissioner of Appeals. |
| 1705. | May. Publishes The Tender Husband | 1705. | Publishes Remarks on Several Parts of Italy. |
| Marries Mrs. Margaret Stretch, who died about a year later. |
| 1706. | Leaves the army. 1706. Publishes Rosamund. |
| 1707. | Appointed Gazetteer and Gentleman Usher to Prince George of Denmark. Named Under-Secretary of |
| September. Marries Miss Mary Scurlock. |
| Contemporary Literature | History |
|---|
| 1678. | Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Part I. | 1685. | Accession of James II. |
| | | Monmouth's Rebellion and the Bloody Assize. |
| 1681-2. | Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel, MacFlecknoe. | 1686. | Attempted Repeal of the Test Act. First Declaration of Indulgence. |
| 1684. | Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Part II. |
| 1687. | Dryden's Hind and Panther. |
| | 1688. | New Declaration of Indulgence; Trial of the Bishops. Revolution; Accession of William and Mary. |
| 1690. | Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding. | 1689. | The Toleration Act. |
| Treatise on Civil Government. | 1690. | The Battle of the Boyne. |
| | 1694. | Queen Mary died. |
| 1697. | Dryden's Alexander's Feast, Translation of Virgil. | 1697. | Peace of Ryswick. |
| 1701. | Defoe's Trueborn Englishman. | 1701. | Grand Alliance between England, Austria, Holland, against France. |
| 1702. | Defoe's Shortest Way with Dissenters. | 1702. | War of Spanish Succession begins. |
| | | King William dies; accession of Queen Anne. |
| | | Tory Party in majority. |
| 1704. | Swift's Battle of the Books and Tale of a Tub. | 1703. | Victory of Blenheim. |
| Defoe's Review begun. | | Harley and St. John called to the ministry. |
| | 1705. | Increasing power of the Whigs; union of Whigs and moderate Tories. |
| | 1706. | Marlborough defeats French at Ramillies. |
| | 1707. | Union with Scotland. |
| Steele | Addison |
|---|
| | 1708. | Chief Secretary to Earl of Wharton, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. |
| 1709. | April 12. First number of The Tatler. | 1709. | Joins Steele in the conduct of The Tatler. |
| 1710. | January. Appointed Commissioner of Stamps. | 1710. | September, October. Conducts The Whig Examiner. Loses his Secretaryship. |
| October. Loses his place as Gazetteer. |
| 1711. | January 2. Last number of The Tatler. | 1711-14. | With Steele conducts The Spectator. |
| March 1. First number of The Spectator. |
| 1712. | December 6. Last number of The Spectator under the joint editorship of Steele and Addison. | 1712. | Poems. |
| 1713. | March 12. The Guardian begun. | 1713. | April 14. Cato first acted; published in the same month. |
| August. Elected to Parliament from Stockbridge. | | Contributes to The Guardian. |
| October 1. The Guardian discontinued. |
| October 6. The Englishman begun. |
| 1714. | January. Publishes The Crisis. | 1714. | Eighth volume of The Spectator. Chief Secretary to the Earl of Sunderland, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. |
| February 15. The Englishman discontinued. |
| February 28. The Lover begun; discontinued May 27. |
| March 18. Expelled from the House of Commons. |
| April 22. The Reader begun; discontinued May 10. |
| October 9. Publishes The Ladies Library. |
| October 22. Publishes Apology for Himself and his Writings. |
| 1715. | Patentee of Drury Lane Theater. | 1715. | The Drummer published. |
| Knighted by George I. | | December 23. Started The Freeholder; discontinued June 9, 1716. |
| July 11 to November 21. Second volume of The Englishman. |
| 1716. | Commissioner of Forfeited Estates in Scotland. | 1716. | Commissioner for Trade and Colonies. |
| | | Married the Dowager Countess of Warwick. |
| Contemporary Literature | History |
|---|
| 1708. | Swift's Argument against Abolishing Christianity. Sentiments of a Church of England Man, Predictions of Isaac Bickerstaff. | 1708. | Whigs supreme; forced resignation of Harley and St. John.Battle of Oudenarde. |
| 1709. | Pope's Pastorals. Prior's Poems. | 1709. | French defeated at Malplaquet. |
| | | Growing weariness of the war. |
| | | Sacheverell's sermon (November 9). |
| 1710. | Berkeley's Principles of Human Knowledge. | 1710. | Trial of Sacheverell (February). |
| Swift's Examiner; Journal to Stella begun. | | Parliament dissolved; elections (November) bring in Tory majorities; Harley (now Earl of Oxford) and St. John (now Viscount Bolingbroke) at the head of the ministry. |
| 1711. | Pope's Essay on Criticism. | 1711. | Marlborough relieved of command of the army. |
| Swift's Conduct of the >Allies. | | Creation of twelve new Tory peers; Tories in complete control of government. |
| 1712. | Pope's Rape of the Lock (First version). | 1712. | Negotiations for peace. |
| Arbuthnot's History of John Bull. |
| 1713. | Berkeley's Three Dialogues. | 1713. | Peace of Utrecht. |
| Pope's Windsor Forest. | | Growing difference between Oxford and Bolingbroke. |
| Swift's Cadenus and Vanessa. |
| 1714. | Gay's Shepherd's Week. | 1714. | Death of Queen Anne; accession of George I. |
| Pope's Rape of the Lock (Second version). | | Downfall of the Tory party. |
| Swift's Public Spirit of the Whigs. |
| 1715. | Gay's Trivia. Pope's Translation of the Iliad, Vol. I. (Finished in 1720.) | 1715. | Jacobite rebellion. |
