Sheridan, Richard Brinsley 1751-1816
Irish dramatist

He was born in Dublin, the grandson of Jonathan Swift's friend, Thomas Sheridan (1687-1738), and the son of Thomas Sheridan (1719-88), author of a Life of Swift. His mother, Frances (1724-66), was the author of several plays, and a novel called Sidney Biddulph. He was educated at Harrow, and after leaving school, with a schoolfriend wrote a three-act farce called Jupiter and tried a verse translation of the Epistles of Aristoenetus. In 1773 he married Elizabeth Linley. The couple settled in London to a life that was beyond their means and Sheridan devoted more time to dramatic composition. In 1775 The Rivals was successfully produced at Covent Garden, London, and in the same year appeared a poor farce called St Patrick's Day and also The Duenna. In 1776 Sheridan, with the aid of Thomas Linley and another friend, bought half the patent of Drury Lane Theatre for �35,000 from David Garrick, and in 1778 the remaining share for �45,000. His first production was a purified edition of John Vanbrugh's Relapse, under the title of A Trip to Scarborough. In 1777 he produced his most famous play, The School for Scandal, a satirical comedy of manners. The Critic (1779), teeming with sparkling wit, was his last dramatic effort, apart from a less successful tragedy, Pizarro. In 1780 he was elected MP for Stafford, and became Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs (1782) under Charles, Marquis of Rockingham, and afterwards Secretary to the Treasury in the coalition ministry (1783). His parliamentary reputation dated from some great speeches in the impeachment of Warren Hastings. In 1794 he again electrified the House by a magnificent oration in reply to Lord Mornington's denunciation of the French Revolution. He remained the devoted friend and adherent of Charles Fox till Fox's death, and was also the defender and mouthpiece of the Prince Regent. In 1806 he was appointed Receiver of the Duchy of Cornwall, and in 1806 Treasurer to the navy. In 1812 he lost his seat. In 1792 his first wife died, and three years later he married Esther Ogle, daughter of the dean of Winchester, who survived him. The affairs of the theatre had gone badly. The old building had to be closed as unfit to hold large audiences, and a new one, opened in 1794, was burned in 1809. This last calamity put the finishing touch to Sheridan's pecuniary difficulties, which had long been serious. He died in great poverty, but was given a magnificent funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Bibliography: L Gibbs, Sheridan (1947)