HARRINGTON, EARLS OF. The first earl of Harrington (cr. 1i42) was the diplomatist and politician, William Stanhope (c. 169o-1756), a younger son of John Stanhope of Elvaston, Derbyshire. Educated at Eton, William Stanhope was British ambassador in Spain from 1720 to 1729, and was created Baron Harrington in Jan. 1730. He was secretary of State for the north ern department from 1730 to 1746 except for a short interval , when he was president of the council. He was lord lieutenant of Ireland from 1747 to 1751, and he died in London on Dec. 8, 1756.
Leicester Fitzgerald Charles (1784-1862) , 5th earl, was a sol dier and a politician of advanced views, who worked with Lord Byron in the cause of Greek independence. He wrote A Sketch of the History and Influence of the Press in British India (1823); and Greece in 1823 and 1824 (English ed. 1824, American ed., 1825).