Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham PC (24 October 1675 – 14 September 1749) was a British soldier and politician. He was known for his ownership of and modifications to the estate at Stowe and for serving as a political mentor to the young William Pitt.
Temple was born to a Whig family in the family estate of Stowe, located in Buckinghamshire. After attending Eton College and Cambridge University, Temple entered the military; however, at the age...
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Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham PC (24 October 1675 – 14 September 1749) was a British soldier and politician. He was known for his ownership of and modifications to the estate at Stowe and for serving as a political mentor to the young William Pitt.
Temple was born to a Whig family in the family estate of Stowe, located in Buckinghamshire. After attending Eton College and Cambridge University, Temple entered the military; however, at the age of 21, he inherited his father's baronetcy.
By the age of 26, he was a Lieutenant Colonel, and he became a Lieutenant General at 34, which was an extremely young age. He had especially distinguished himself, like many other famous officers, during the Duke of Marlborough's campaigns in the War of the Spanish Succession, especially during the Siege of Lille in 1708.
He married heiress Anne Halsey, whose wealthy ancestry allowed him to extensively work on the estate of Stowe, while buying off two cousins to keep them from inheriting the estate....
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