WALPOLE, ROBERT, 1ST EARL OF ORFORD

born Aug. 26, 1676, Houghton Hall, Norfolk, Eng. died March 18, 1745, London Robert Walpole, detail of an oil painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, c. 1710-15; in the 1/4 also called (1725-42) Sir Robert Walpole British statesman (in power 1721-42), generally regarded as the first British prime minister. He deliberately cultivated a frank, hearty manner, but his political subtlety has scarcely been equalled. Additional reading The most thorough life of Walpole is J.H. Plumb, Sir Robert Walpole, 2 vol. (1956-61); it is complemented by Brian W. Hill, Sir Robert Walpole (1989). The methods by which Walpole was able to create political stability in England are described in J.H. Plumb, The Growth of Political Stability in England: 1675-1725 (also published as The Origins of Political Stability, 1967). Romney Sedgwick, The House of Commons 1715-1754, 2 vol. (1970), is indispensable for understanding Walpole's control of Parliament. See also H.T. Dickinson, Walpole and the Whig Supremacy (1973); and Jeremy Black, Robert Walpole and the Nature of Politics in Early Eighteenth-century Britain (1990).