Wilmington, Earl of (1673-1743), was the second prime minister of Britain. He succeeded Sir Robert Walpole in 1742. Wilmington’s brief time in office was dominated by foreign affairs as Britain was involved in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). Wilmington died on July 2, 1743, in London, after less than one year and a half in office.
Wilmington was born Spencer Compton in Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire, in 1673. The youngest of five children, Compton was educated at St. Paul’s School, Westminster, and Trinity College, Oxford. He entered the House of Commons in 1698 as a representative of Eye, Suffolk. A member of the Whig Party, he was speaker of the House of Commons from 1715 until 1727. From 1722 to 1730, he served as paymaster general. In 1728, Compton was made Earl of Wilmington and became lord privy seal and lord president of the council.
