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

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Whig

British Whig Party

The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...

 politician.

Walpole was the eldest son and heir of the 1st Baron Walpole. In 1747, he was elected as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for King's Lynn

King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)

King's Lynn was a constituency in Norfolk, known as Lynn or Bishop's Lynn prior to 1537, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, and one member thereafter. Until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough, after which the name...

 and held the seat until 1757 when he inherited his father's barony of Walpole

Baron Walpole

Baron Walpole, of Walpole in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The holders of the peerage also held the titles of Baron Walpole, of Houghton in the County of Norfolk, Viscount Walpole and Earl of Orford from 1745 to 1797, the title of Earl of Orford from 1806 to...

 (of Wolterton). In 1797, he inherited the barony of Walpole (of Walpole) from his cousin, the 4th and last Earl of Orford

Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford

Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford was an English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. He is now largely remembered for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London where he revived the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors,...

 and was himself created Earl of Orford in 1806.

On 12 May 1748, Walpole had married Lady Rachel Cavendish (1727 – 8 May 1805), the third daughter of the 3rd Duke of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC was a British nobleman and Whig politician, the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire and Hon. Rachel Russell....

, and on his death in 1809, his titles passed to their eldest son, Horatio

Horatio Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford

Horatio Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford , styled The Honourable Horatio Walpole between 1757 and 1806 and Lord Walpole between 1806 and 1809, was a British peer and politician.-Background:...

. Lord Orford and his wife had at least two other children: Lady Mary Walpole (born c. 1757), who married Thomas Hussey on 4 August 1777 and had issue; and The Hon. George Walpole (20 June 1758 – May 1835).

Styles from birth to death

• Mr Horatio Walpole (1723–1747)
• Mr Horatio Walpole, MP (1747–1756)
• The Hon. Horatio Walpole, MP (1756–1757)
• The Rt Hon. The Lord Walpole (1757–1806)
• The Rt Hon. The Earl of Orford (1806–1809)