Spencer Compton , 1st Earl of Wilmington Spencer Compton , 1st Earl of Wilmington KG , KB , PC ( ca 1673 – 2 July 1743 ) was a British Whig statesman who served continuously in government from 1715 until his death . He served as the nominal head of government from 1742 until his death in 1743 , but was merely a figurehead for the true leader of the government , Lord Carteret , the Secretary of State for the Northern Department . He is considered to have been Britain ' s second Prime Minister , after Sir Robert Walpole . Early life . Compton , the third son of the 3rd Earl of Northampton , was educated at St Paul ' s and at Trinity College , Oxford . Thereafter he was admitted into Middle Temple , thus allowing him to practice law . He entered the House of Commons for the first time in 1698 , representing Eye in Suffolk . Although his family were High Tories , he turned to the Whigs after a quarrel with his brother , the 4th Earl of Northampton . In Parliament he soon stood out as prominent amongst the Whigs and began a partnership with Robert Walpole that would last for over forty years . Political career . In 1707 he became Paymaster of Pensions , a post that he retained for the next six years despite leaving Parliament in 1710 when he disagreed with his patron Lord Cornwallis and the taking of office by a Tory government in that year . It is believed that the Tories retained him as they sought to maintain the support of the Compton family . In 1713 Compton re - entered Parliament for East Grinstead and when the Whigs took power in 1715 he was hopeful that he would enter a high office . Speaker of the Commons . Instead of the high office he had hoped for , Compton became Treasurer to the Prince of Wales ( later George II ) , and shortly afterwards was unanimously elected as Speaker of the House of Commons . He held this post from 1715 to 1727 ; one year after his appointment in that capacity , he was invested a Privy Counsellor . He maintained the role despite the split in the Whigs in 1717 in which he joined the Walpole - Townshend alliance and found himself in opposition to the government of the day . He managed to maintain his position through until 1720 , when the split ended . Compton had a reputation for being a lax Speaker , once telling an MP who complained of being interrupted , " No sir , you have a right to speak , but the House have a right to judge whether they will hear you . " When Walpole became the leading minister of the day in 1721 there was speculation about his future should George I pass away and be succeeded by his son , who was more favourably inclined towards Compton than Walpole and declared that he would replace the latter with the former on accession . In order to avoid this , Walpole sought to keep Compton on the margins of government , though he was appointed as Paymaster of the Forces , a very lucrative post , from 1722 until 1730 . In 1725 , Compton entered Walpole ' s government as Lord Privy Seal and was also created a Knight of the Bath . Missed chance . In 1727 , George II succeeded to the throne and sought to bring about the change in leadership he had promised . However , Compton was not perceived as a man of great ability . He was described by a contemporary as , " a plodding , heavy fellow , with great application but no talents " . In particular he proved unable to compete with Walpole ' s proposals for an allowance for the King . At a meeting between the three , Compton declared he was not up to the task of government . He maintained a hatred of Walpole for the humiliation . With this passed his last serious chance of holding real control over policy , and his influence sharply declined as a result . He remained on very close terms with George , but the era when Kings could personally select their own ministers in defiance of parliament , was ending . Patriot Whigs . In order to remove him from the Commons , Walpole raised Compton to the peerage as Baron Wilmington in 1728 ; two years later , he was created Earl of Wilmington and Viscount Pevensey and appointed Lord President of the Council . He became increasingly associated with the Patriot Whigs , those most critical of Walpole , but in Parliament generally stuck to the official line of the ministry . However , during the Excise Crisis of 1733 , he failed to carry through a threat to resign , after being bought off with the promise to make him a Knight of the Garter , which he duly was . This further weakened any following he still commanded . He served as Lord President until 1742 . He was involved in the creation of the Foundling Hospital in 1739 , which was an orphanage for abandoned children . This charity became the capital ' s most fashionable way to prove one ' s philanthropic credentials and therefore had very notable board members , of whom Wilmington was one . Prime Minister . In January 1742 he succeeded Walpole as First Lord of the Treasury and titular head of the Carteret Ministry , though the government was actually dominated by Lord Carteret . Wilmington was by now in poor health and found that other appointments were made without consulting him . He remained in office until his death , when he was succeeded by the Paymaster of the Forces , Henry Pelham . He died unmarried and without issue , and therefore all his titles became extinct upon his death . Wilmington was buried at his family seat of Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire . Legacy . The cities of Wilmington , Delaware , Wilmington , North Carolina and the towns of Wilmington , Massachusetts and Wilmington , Vermont are named in his honour . In the former , the Compton Towers housing project also bears his name . He never married . His brothers both have descendants in the United States and Great Britain .