Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (12 June 1723 – 24 February 1809)L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), p. 211. was a British Whig politician.

Biography

Walpole was the eldest son and heir of

Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, (8 December 16785 February 1757) was an English diplomat, politician and peer who served as the British ambassador to France from 1724 to 1730. He was the son of Robert Walpole and the younger brother of ...

and his wife, Mary Magdalen Lombard. He was admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in January 1736, and matriculated at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, in 1741. In 1747, he was elected as Member of Parliament for

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

and held the seat until 1757 when he inherited his father's barony of Walpole (of Wolterton). In 1797, he inherited the barony of Walpole (of Walpole) from his first cousin, the 4th and last Earl of Orford (of the second creation) and was himself created

Earl of Orford Earl of Orford is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 when the naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell was made Earl of Orford, in the County of Suffolk. He was cre ...

in 1806. Letters from

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

from

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

to Walpole, dated 30 March 1806, show that the King gave his approval to the creation of Walpole's new title. On the same date, the King gave his written approval to Charles Pierrepont, 1st Viscount Newark – like Walpole, a parliamentarian – who had asked the King for his permission to be created Earl Manvers. On 12 May 1748, Walpole married Lady Rachel Cavendish (1727 – 8 May 1805), the third daughter of the 3rd Duke of Devonshire, and on his death in 1809, his titles passed to their eldest son, Horatio. Lord Orford and his wife had at least two other children: Lady Mary Walpole (born c. 1757), who married Thomas Hussey, 19th Baron Galtrim, on 4 August 1777 and had issue; and The Hon. George Walpole (20 June 1758 – May 1835). In 1758 he was the godfather of Admiral

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

, who was named after him.

References

Orford, Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Orford, Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Horatio Earls of Orford Whig (British political party) politicians {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub