Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, more commonly known as Horace Walpole, (24 September, 1717 – 2 March, 1797), was a politician, writer, architectural innovator and namesake of his cousin Horatio Nelson.

He was born in London, the youngest son of British Prime Minister Robert Walpole. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge. His homosexuality revealed itself early, and he is believed to have had affairs with the poet Thomas Gray, and with Henry Fiennes Clinton, 9th Earl of Lincoln (later 2nd Duke of Newcastle). Gray accompanied Walpole on the Grand Tour, but they quarrelled, and Walpole returned to England in 1741 and entered parliament. He was never politically ambitious, but remained an MP even after the death of his father in 1745 left him a man of independent means.

Following his father's politics, he was a devotee of King George II and Queen Caroline, siding with them against their son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, about whom Walpole wrote spitefully in his memoirs. Walpole's home, Strawberry Hill, near Twickenham, was a fanciful concoction of neo-Gothic which began a new architectural trend. In 1764, he published his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, setting a literary trend to go with the architecture. From 1762 on, he published his Anecdotes of Painting in England, based on George Vertue's manuscript notes. His memoirs of the Georgian social and political scene, though heavily biased, are a useful primary source for historians. In one of the numerous letters, from January 28, 1754, he coined the word serendipity which he said was derived from a "silly fairy tale" he had read, The Three Princes of Serendip.

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loves ☛ "Life is a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy to those who think." -Horace Walpole http://plurk.com/p/1pkp52
honeyteodoro (honeyteodoro) Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:58:06 -0000
loves ☛ "Life is a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy to those who think." -Horace Walpole http://plurk.com/p/1pkp52
"Life is a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy to those who think." -Horace Walpole
honeyteodoro (honeyteodoro) Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:56:55 -0000
"Life is a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy to those who think." -Horace Walpole
"Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think." Horace Walpole
nerdhype (Gustavo L.) Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:28:51 -0000
"Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think." Horace Walpole
I concur! RT @hasief: quote by Horace Walpole "Life is a comedy for those who think...and a tragedy for those who feel." Damn right it is.
dessey (Desy Khoirunnisa) Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:06:58 -0000
I concur! RT @hasief: quote by Horace Walpole "Life is a comedy for those who think...and a tragedy for those who feel." Damn right it is.
RT @hasief: Quote by Horace Walpole: "Life is a comedy for those who think...and a tragedy for those who feel." Damn right it is.
sisogi (sogi indra dhuaja) Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:48:03 -0000
RT @hasief: Quote by Horace Walpole: "Life is a comedy for those who think...and a tragedy for those who feel." Damn right it is.
Here's a quote by Horace Walpole on my Gmail: "Life is a comedy for those who think...and a tragedy for those who feel." Damn right it is.
hasief (Hasief Ardiasyah) Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:40:44 -0000
Here's a quote by Horace Walpole on my Gmail: "Life is a comedy for those who think...and a tragedy for those who feel." Damn right it is.

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