Origins & Early Life

Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was a British Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London, reviving the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors. His literary reputation rests on the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto (1764), and his Letters, which are of significant social and political interest. They have been published by Yale University Press in 48 volumes.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

In 2017, a volume of Walpole's selected letters was published. The youngest son of the first British prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, he became the 4th and last Earl of Orford of the second creation on his nephew's death in 1791. Walpole was born in London, the youngest son of British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole and his wife, Catherine. Like his father, he received early education in Bexley; in part under Edward Weston. He was also educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Walpole's first friends were probably his cousins Francis and Henry Conway, to whom he became strongly attached, especially...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• David Garrick — Contemporary (Born in 1717) (1717): Pioneering English actor, playwright, and theatre manager of the 18th century.
• Ernst Gideon von Laudon — Contemporary (Born in 1717) (1717): Austrian general renowned for opposing Frederick the Great in the Silesian and Seven Years' Wars.
• Jean Le Rond d'Alembert — Contemporary (Born in 1717) (1717): Pioneering French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher known for the wave equation.
• Adolphe Thiers — Contemporary (Born in 1797) (1797): Influential French statesman, historian, and President of the Third Republic.
• Alfred de Vigny — Contemporary (Born in 1797) (1797): French poet and early Romanticist, known for his plays and novels.
• Charles Lyell — Contemporary (Born in 1797) (1797): Scottish geologist, pioneer of uniformitarianism, and author of Principles of Geology.
• Alaungpaya — Shared historical date (09-24 · Born) (1714): Founder of the Konbaung Dynasty, unifying Burma through military prowess.
• Albrecht von Wallenstein — Shared historical date (09-24 · Born) (1583): Bohemian military leader and statesman, key figure in the Thirty Years' War.
• Andrei Linde — Shared historical date (03-02 · Born) (1948): Pioneering theoretical physicist known for inflationary cosmology and the multiverse concept.
• Berthe Morisot — Shared historical date (03-02 · Died) (1895): Pioneering French painter and key figure among the Impressionists.
• 1717 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1717
• September 24 (09-24) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on September 24
• 1797 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1797
• March 2 (03-02) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on March 2