born 1673, Paris, France
died Feb. 5, 1721, London, Eng.
English soldier and statesman.
He began a military career in 1691 and rose rapidly to become commander in chief of the English army in Spain in 1708 in the War of the Spanish Succession . He was defeated and captured by the French (1710), then returned to England (1712) and regained his seat in the House of Commons (170121). He served in the Whig government as secretary of state and negotiated the Quadruple Alliance against Spain (1718). Stanhope served as first lord of the treasury (171718), but his ministry was discredited by the South Sea Bubble scandal.