Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke

The Viscount Bolingbroke
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. Attributed to Alexis Simon Belle, c. 1712 (NPG 593 at the National Portrait Gallery, London).
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
In office
17 August 1713 – 31 August 1714
Monarchs
Preceded byThe Earl of Dartmouth
Succeeded byJames Stanhope
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
In office
21 September 1710 – 17 August 1713
MonarchAnne
Preceded byHenry Boyle
Succeeded byWilliam Bromley
Secretary at War
In office
1704–1708
MonarchAnne
Preceded byGeorge Clarke
Succeeded byRobert Walpole
Jacobite Secretary of State
In office
July 1715 – March 1716
MonarchJames Francis Edward Stuart
Preceded byThomas Higgons
Succeeded byJohn Erskine, Earl of Mar
Personal details
Born
Henry St John

16 September 1678
Battersea, Surrey
England
Died12 December 1751(1751-12-12) (aged 73)
Battersea, London,
Great Britain
Political partyTory
Spouses
  • Frances Winchcombe
  • Marie Claire des Champs
Parents
Signature
Arms of St John: Argent, on a chief gules two mullets or

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (/ˈsɪnɪn ˈbɒlɪŋbrʊk/; 16 September 1678 – 12 December 1751) was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his antireligious views and opposition to theology.[1][2][3][4][5] He supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the new king George I. Escaping to France he became foreign minister for James Francis Edward Stuart. He was attainted for treason, but reversed course and was allowed to return to England in 1723. According to Ruth Mack, "Bolingbroke is best known for his party politics, including the ideological history he disseminated in The Craftsman (1726–1735) by adopting the formerly Whig theory of the Ancient Constitution and giving it new life as an anti-Walpole Tory principle."[6]

  1. ^ See e.g., Henry St. John Viscount Bolingbroke, "Letters or Essays Addressed to Alexander Pope: Introduction", The Works of Lord Bolingbroke: With a Life, Prepared Expressly for This Edition, Containing Additional Information Relative to His Personal and Public Character, (Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1841) Vol 3, pp. 40–64. Also available on Project Gutenberg as "Letter to Alexander Pope" in Letters to Sir William Windham and Mr. Pope.
  2. ^ D'Holbach, Baron. Good Sense paragraph 206
  3. ^ The philosophical works of Lord Bolingbroke Volume 2, p. 287
  4. ^ Allen, Brooke, Moral Minority p. 75
  5. ^ Voltaire, God and Human Beings pp. 64, 80, 104
  6. ^ Ruth Mack (2009). Literary Historicity: Literature and Historical Experience in Eighteenth-century Britain. Stanford UP. p. 8. ISBN 9780804759113.