Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington (c. 1674 - 14 July 1743) was a British Whig statesman, who served continuously in government from 1715 until his death. He had several styles: Sir Spencer Compton (1722–1728), The Lord Wilmington (1728–1730), and The Earl of Wilmington (after 1730). He served as the nominal head of government from 1742 until his death in 1743, but was merely a figurehead for the true leaders of government (namely John Carteret, 3rd Baron Carteret).

Compton, the third son of James Spencer Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton, was educated at St Paul's and Trinity College, Oxford, then was accepted into Middle Temple. He entered the House of Commons for the first time in 1698. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1715 to 1727; one year after his appointment in that capacity, he was invested a Privy Counsellor. He served as Paymaster General from 1722 to 1730, having been created a Knight of the Bath in 1725, when he entered the government of Sir Robert Walpole as Lord Privy Seal.

In 1728, Compton was raised to the peerage as Baron Wilmington; two years later, he was created Earl of Wilmington and Viscount Pevensey and appointed Lord President of the Council. In 1733, he was again knighted, this time as a Knight of the Garter. He served as Lord President until 1742, when he succeeded Walpole at the Treasury as titular head of the Carteret Ministry, whose leader was actually Lord Carteret. Upon his death, Lord Wilmington was replaced by his Paymaster of the Forces, Henry Pelham.

References

• Burke's Peerage