CHESTERFIELD, Philip Dormer Stan hope, 4th EARL or, English statesman and orator: b. London, 22 Sept. 1694; d. 24 March 1773. On the accession of George I, General Stanhope, his great-uncle, procured him the place of gentleman of the bed-chamber to the Prince of Wales; and the borough of Saint German, in Cornwall, elected him to Parliament, though he had not yet attained the legal age. He soon acquired distinction as a speaker, which he maintained also in the Upper House after his father's death in 1726. In 1728 he was appointed Ambassador to Holland, and succeeded in delivering Hanover from the calamities of the war by which it was threatened. He was afterward, in 1744, ap pointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and on his return in 1746 received the place of Secretary of State; but in 1748 retired from public affairs, and devoted the remainder of his life almost entirely to study and the society of his friends. His talents as an author were displayed in several moral, critical and human essays, in his parliamentary speeches, which were printed at a later period, and particularly in a collec tion of 'Letters to His Son' (1774), which have become famous. To the charms of wit and
grace he united good sense, a thorough knowl edge of the manners, customs and the political condition of Europe, and a polished style. He recommends to his son grace of manners as the most essential quality for a man of the world, and even instigates him to licentious irregular ities. Another series of letters addressed to his godson, and published in 1889. show Chester field in a more favorable light. (See CH ESTER.. FIELD'S LETTERS TO His Sow). Consult Brown ing, 'Wit and Wisdom of Lord Chesterfield' (New York 1891) ; Birrell, 'Lord Chesterfield> (New York 1905); and biographies by Ernst (London 1893) ; Craig (London 1907). A col lection of hitherto unpublished letters appeared in 'Nineteenth Century and After> (ed. by R. Louden, London 1912).