Edmund Burke | Biography

When in 1765 at the age of 36, he began his long career as a member of the British Parliament, Edmund Burke was already widely known for his intellectual ability as editor of the highly acclaimed journal the Annual Register and as the author of A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. An eloquent and thoughtful orator, his speeches soon earned him a place of prominence within Parliament and as the leading figure of the Rockingham Whigs. He undertook many controversial issues during his political career and in his writings, including state policies regarding the American colonies, Ireland, India, and the French Revolution. Honored by modern conservatives for his commitment to tradition, morality, and orderly society, Burke was also heralded by liberals for his dedication to tolerance, liberty, and reform.

Burke was born in Dublin, Ireland, on January 12, 1729, to Richard Burke, attorney of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer, and Mary Nagle Burke. As a child, Burke was sent to live in south Ireland with his mother's relatives in hopes of curing his asthma. At the age of 12, he and two of his brothers were sent to study in Ballitore under the tutelage of a Quaker schoolmaster. In 1744, the 16-year-old Burke entered Trinity College and pursued a variety of academic interests, including science, logic, history, and literature. After receiving his A.B. degree in 1748, he left Ireland to study law in London at Middle Temple, a course of action dictated more by his father's wishes than by his own desires. Consequently, in the mid-1750s, much to his father's dismay, Burke abandoned his legal studies to pursue his growing interest in writing. He married Jane Nugent, a doctor's daughter, on March 12, 1757, and they had two sons, Richard and Christopher (the latter died in early childhood).

Burke began his writing career with the publication of A Vindication of Natural Society (1756), a satirical criticism of deist Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, and A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757), a well-received examination of aesthetic principles. The latter publication placed Burke well within the circle of influential writers, which included Sir Joshua Reynolds, David Garrick, and Elizabeth Montagu. This success led to an invitation to become the editor of the Annual Register , a journal of politics, science, history, and the arts. While he was the anonymous author of the history section for over a decade, Burke's growing interest in politics was reflected in his eloquent writing on such topics as the Seven Years' War in Europe, the increasing tensions in the American colonies, and the British efforts to colonize India.

In 1765 Burke became the secretary to George Montagu Dunk, Earl of Halifax, lord lieutenant of Ireland. His secretarial duties required him to travel to his native Ireland, where he was deeply affected by the discriminatory laws against Irish Catholics that restricted their ability to acquire wealth, own land, and participate in society. Burke recorded his concern for the state of his homeland in fragmentary papers, "Tracts on the Popery Laws," published posthumously. Burke, who had been raised Protestant and married a Protestant, nonetheless had Catholic connections through his mother and relatives in Nagle. Throughout his political career, he would be falsely portrayed by his enemies as a devout Catholic who pledged his allegiance to the Pope.

In 1765 Burke accepted a position as secretary to Charles Watson Wentworth, Marquis of Rockingham. Just months later, Ralph, Lord Verney suggested that Burke assume a vacancy in the borough of Wendover. After easily winning the election, Burke became a deeply devoted member of the Rockingham Whigs, a position that would place him in the political minority for all but a short time during his political career. He continued to write on matters of political and civil organization and became the Rockingham Whig's primary and most important defender. Just days after his entry into the House of Commons, on April 19, 1774, Burke made his first speech to the assembly; his topic was the American colonies, an issue to which he would return often. Two of his most famous speeches were published in 1775 as the Speech on American Taxation and the Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies. Not necessarily supporting succession from British rule, Burke implored the British government to answer the crucial questions: "First, whether you ought to concede; and secondly, what your concession ought to be." He adamantly supported the colonists' claim to British citizenship and rejected their treatment as outcasts and rebels. After the American Revolution began, Burke turned his attention to Ireland. He worked diligently to pass the Catholic Relief Bill, a measure that would ease the restrictions on Catholics' ability to inherit and own property. Upon the passage of the bill, mobs of Protestants rioted in protest; Burke, however, escaped harm.

Returning to an issue he first addressed as editor of the Annual Register, Burke took up the politically charged debate regarding England's presence in India. Focusing on the corrupt actions of the East India Company, a trading company that had held a royal charter in India since 1600, Burke worked throughout the early 1850s to bring action against the trading company and replace India's rule under parliamentary control. His efforts culminated in the impeachment trial of Warren Hastings, governor general of the East India Company. The long affair lasted seven years and included 148 sittings. Burke, as the main advocate for prosecution, postponed his intended retirement to see the matter to fruition although the stress affected on his health. On June 21, 1794, the day after the case was finally forwarded to the House of Lords for judgment, Burke offered his resignation from the House of Commons. A year later Hastings was acquitted of all charges.

In the midst of the Hastings affair, Burke also responded to the debate in England over the legitimacy of the French Revolution. Written in the personalized style of a letter, Burke offered his opposition to the revolt in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). Clearly, Burke was not nearly as interested in the outcome of the French resistance as he was the impact of French revolutionary ideas on England. Arguing against individual rights as society's primary goal, he stood firmly for the moral authority of political rule. Burke's position was not popular within his own Whig party, and he soon found himself out of favor. Nonetheless, he continued to publish his opinions on the matter, which engrossed him until his death on July 9, 1797. A consummate thinker and statesman, Burke continues to influence the understanding of political and civil society more than two hundred years after his death.