Philip Dormer Stanhope 4th earl of Chesterfield

Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, 4th earl of 1694-1773, English statesman and author. A noted wit and orator, his long public career, begun in 1715, included an ambassadorship to The Hague (1728-32), a seat in Parliament, and a successful tenure as lord lieutenant of Ireland (1745-46). His literary fame rests upon his letters to his illegitimate son, Philip Stanhope (first pub. 1774), designed for the education of a young man, and upon his letters to his godson (pub. 1890).

Bibliography: See edition of his letters by B. Dobree (6 vol., 1932) and additional letters edited by S. L. Gulick, Jr. (1938); study by S. Shellabarger (rev. ed. 1951, repr. 1971).

Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th earl of (1694–1773). Politician and diplomat. Chesterfield owed his entrée into politics in 1714 to his kinsman James Stanhope. He was elected an MP in 1715 and joined the household of the prince of Wales, the future George II. Inheriting his father's earldom in 1726, he served as ambassador to The Hague, 1728–32, but soon after his return joined the opposition to Walpole. After Walpole's fall he made his peace in 1745 with the ‘old corps’ Whigs, led by the Pelhams, and accepted office as lord-lieutenant of Ireland. He became one of the inner circle of ministers responsible for national policy, and in 1746 was appointed secretary of state (northern department), but his peace aims were frequently upstaged by the bellicosity of his senior colleague Newcastle, and in 1748 he resigned. Chesterfield's Letters to his Son, famously described by Johnson as exhibiting ‘the morals of a whore and the manners of a dancing master’, were published by his widow the year after his death.

Andrew Hanham

Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th earl of (1694–1773). Politician and diplomat. Chesterfield owed his entrée into politics in 1714 to his kinsman James Stanhope. Inheriting his father's earldom in 1726, he served as ambassador to The Hague, 1728–32, but after his return joined the opposition to Walpole. After Walpole's fall he made his peace in 1745 with the Pelhams, and accepted office as lord‐lieutenant of Ireland. In 1746 he was appointed secretary of state (northern department), but found his senior colleague Newcastle difficult, and in 1748 resigned. Chesterfield's Letters to his son, famously described by Johnson as exhibiting ‘the morals of a whore and the manners of a dancing master’, were published the year after his death.