Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: Joseph Addison ( May 1 , 1672 â `` June 17 , 1719 ) was a famous author and essayist who is known as `` The Noblest Purifier of English Literature '' .
Simplified: Joseph Addison ( 1 May 1672 â `` 17 June 1719 ) was an English essayist , poet , playwright and politician .