Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork

The Right Honourable The Earl of Burlington The Earl of Cork KG PC
Portrait of the 3rd Earl of Burlington by Jonathan Richardson, c. 1718
Lord High Treasurer of Ireland
In office 25 August 1715 – 3 December 1753
Preceded by	The Lord Carleton
Succeeded by	Marquess of Hartington
Personal details
Born	25 April 1694 Yorkshire, England
Died	15 December 1753(1753-12-15) (aged 59) Chiswick House, London
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Savile, Countess of Burlington and Countess of Cork
Children	Lady Dorothy Boyle, Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington

Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, KG PC (25 April 1694 – 15 December 1753) was an Anglo-Irish architect and noble often called the "Apollo of the Arts" and the "Architect Earl". The son of the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork, Burlington never took more than a passing interest in politics despite his position as a Privy Counsellor and a member of both the British House of Lords and the Irish House of Lords.

Lord Burlington is remembered for bringing Palladian architecture to Britain and Ireland. His major projects include Burlington House, Westminster School, Chiswick House and Northwick Park.

Lord Burlington was born in Yorkshire into a wealthy Anglo-Irish family, the son of Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington and his wife, Juliana Noel (1672-1750). Often known as "the Architect Earl", Burlington was instrumental in the revival of Palladian architecture in both Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland. He succeeded to his titles and extensive estates in Yorkshire and Ireland at the age of nine, after his father's death in February 1704. During his minority, which lasted until 1715, his English and Irish lands and political interests were managed on his behalf by his mother and guardian, the dowager countess Juliana. He showed an early love of music. Georg Frideric Handel dedicated two operas to him, while staying at Burlington House: Teseo and Amadigi di Gaula. According to Hawkins, Francesco Barsanti dedicated the six recorder sonatas of his Op. 1 to Lord Burlington, although the dedication must have appeared on the manuscript copies sold by Peter Bressan, before Walsh & Hare engraved the works c. 1727. Three foreign Grand Tours 1714 – 1719 and a further trip to Paris in 1726 gave him opportunities to develop his taste. His professional skill as an architect (always supported by a mason-contractor) was extraordinary in an English aristocrat. He carried his copy of Andrea Palladio's book I quattro libri dell'architettura with him in touring the Veneto in 1719, but made notes on only a small number of blank pages, having found the region flooded and many villas inaccessible. In 1719 he was one of main subscribers in the Royal Academy of Music, a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage.