Hastings, Elizabeth (1682–1739)

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Hastings, Elizabeth (1682–1739)

British philanthropist. Name variations: Lady Elizabeth Hastings. Born in 1682; died in 1739; daughter of Theophilus Hastings, 7th earl of Huntingdon (1650–1701, lord-lieutenant of Leicester and Derby).

A noted philanthropist, the beautiful Lady Elizabeth Hastings was the daughter of Theophilus Hastings, 7th earl of Huntingdon, who was imprisoned for attempting to seize Plymouth for King James II in 1688 and on suspicion of treason in 1692. Elizabeth founded scholarships at The Queen's College, Oxford, and supported charities at Ledsham and in Isle of Man. A friend of William Law, author of Serious Call, Elizabeth was likened to Aspasia in the Tatler by Richard Steele and William Congreve.

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Hastings, Elizabeth (1682–1739)

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