Born:

1651

Died:

1716

Lawyer, Revolution and then Junto Whig politician, literary patron. Lord Chancellor 1697-1700. Impeached for secret diplomatic activities after dismissal, defended by Swift in Contests and DissentionsK. Prominent member of the Kit Kat Club. Dedicatee of many important literary works, including Shaftesbury's Letter on Enthusiasm and the bookseller's preface to A Tale of a Tub. Swift later called him a 'false deceitful rascal', but his opinion had softened by the time of Four Last Years, in which he was granted 'all excellent qualifications except virtue'.