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Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford

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The Earl of Orford
Portrait of Horatio Walpole, Earl of Orford, by Henry Walton
Member of Parliament for King's Lynn
In office
1747–1757
Personal details
Born(1723-06-12)12 June 1723
Died24 February 1809(1809-02-24) (aged 85)
Political partyWhig
Spouse
Rachel Cavendish
(m. 1748)
Children3+, including Horatio and George
Parent
RelativesHorace Walpole (cousin)
EducationCorpus Christi College, Cambridge

Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (12 June 1723 – 24 February 1809)[1] was a British Whig politician.

Biography

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Horatio Walpole (1723–1809) by Pierre Subleyras, circa 1746

Walpole was the eldest son and heir of Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole and his wife, Mary Magdalen Lombard.[citation needed]

He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in January 1736, and matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in 1741.[2]

In 1747, he was elected as Member of Parliament for King's Lynn 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 in 1806.[citation needed]

Letters from St James's Palace from George III 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.[3]

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.[1] 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).[1]

In 1758 he was the godfather of Admiral Horatio Nelson, who was named after him.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b c 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.
  2. ^ "Walpole, Horace (WLPL741H)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  3. ^ George III (King of Great Britain), His Majesty. "The later correspondence of George 3, Volume 2". (Page 424-425) CUP Archive, 1963. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for King's Lynn
1747–1757
With: Sir John Turner, Bt.
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Earl of Orford
3rd creation
1806–1809
Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Baron Walpole
of Walpole
1797–1809
Succeeded by
Preceded by Baron Walpole
of Wolterton
1757–1809