Spectator, The

The, the name of two entirely different London papers. The first was a small society sheet founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. It was issued daily from March 1, 1711, to December 8, 1712, and, after suspension, from June 18 to December 30, 1714. It reached 635 numbers. The present London Spectator is an influential weekly, ranking with the Saturday Review and the Atheneum. It was founded July 5, 1828. During our Civil War the Spectator took up the cause of the North. The triumph of the national cause gave the Spectator prestige at home and abroad. See Steele; Addison