Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Bolingbroke PC |
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Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. Attributed to Alexis Simon Belle, c. 1712. (NPG 593 at the National Portrait Gallery, London).
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| Secretary of State for the Southern Department | |
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In office 17 August 1713 – 31 August 1714 |
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| Monarch | |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Dartmouth |
| Succeeded by | James Stanhope |
| Secretary of State for the Northern Department | |
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In office 21 September 1710 – 17 August 1713 |
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| Monarch | Anne |
| Preceded by | Henry Boyle |
| Succeeded by | William Bromley |
| Secretary at War | |
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In office 1704–1708 |
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| Monarch | Anne |
| Preceded by | George Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Robert Walpole |
| Personal details | |
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Henry St John 16 September 1678 Battersea, Surrey England |
| Died | 12 December 1751 (aged 73) Battersea, London Great Britain |
| Political party | Tory |
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Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (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. In 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the new king George I. Escaping to France he became foreign minister for the Pretender. He was attainted for treason, but reversed course and was allowed to return to England in 1723. He is best known as the philosopher of the Country Party.
Henry St John was most likely born at Lydiard Tregoze, the family seat in Wiltshire, and christened in Battersea. St John was the son of Sir Henry St John, 4th Baronet later 1st Viscount St John, and Lady Mary Rich, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Warwick. Although it has been asserted that St John was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, his name does not appear on registers for either institution and there is no evidence to support either claim. It is possible he was educated at a Dissenting academy.
He travelled to France, Switzerland and Italy during 1698 and 1699 and acquired an exceptional knowledge of French. St John made friends with the Whigs James Stanhope and Edward Hopkins and corresponded with the Tory Sir William Trumball, who advised him: "There appears indeed amongst us [in England] a strong disposition to liberty, but neither honesty nor virtue enough to support it".
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