Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland
Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, PC (28 September 1705 – 1 July 1774 in Holland House) was a leading British politician of the 18th century. He identified primarily with the Whig faction. He notably held the posts of Secretary for War, Southern Secretary and Paymaster of the forces, from which he enriched himself, but while widely tipped as a future Prime Minister, he never held that office. He was the father of Charles James Fox.
He was the second son of Sir Stephen Fox and his second wife the former Christiana Hope, and inherited a large share of his father's wealth. He squandered most of it soon after attaining his majority, and went to the European Continent to escape from his creditors. There he made the acquaintance of a woman of fortune, who became his patroness and was so generous to him that, after several years’ absence, he was in a position to return home.
In 1735 he entered Parliament as Member for Hindon in Wiltshire. He became a protégé and devoted supporter of Sir Robert Walpole, the long-standing Prime Minister, achieving unequalled and unenviable proficiency in the worst political arts of his master and model. He earned particular notice with a speech in parliament calling on Britain to support its European allies, principally Austria. He generally aligned with the government Whigs rather than the Patriot Whig faction that opposed them. Until 1742 this meant the government of Walpole, but afterward. it was the government (1743-1754) of Henry Pelham to which he lent his support.
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