Stanhope Aspinwall was a British diplomat. He was born to Richard Aspinwall and his wife Elizabeth Stanhope, the great granddaughter of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield

Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield

Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield , son of Sir John Stanhope and his wife Cordell Allington, was an English aristocrat. Stanhope was knighted in 1605 by James I...

, the granddaughter of Arthur Stanhope

Arthur Stanhope

Arthur Stanhope was born in 1627 at Shelford, Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and died in 1677. He was the son of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield and Catherine Hastings, daughter of Francis Hastings, Lord Hastings.-Life:...

 and daughter of Charles Stanhope.

Stanhope Aspinwall was educated at Westminster School

Westminster School

The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

 from 1722 until at least 1725.

From 1742 until 1747, Stanhope Aspinwall was stationed at Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 in the British Embassy to the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. In his will dated 14 April 1747, he describes himself as 'Chancellor and Secretary of the British Embassy at Constantinople'. Before that he had been Chargé d'affaires

Chargé d'affaires

In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...

, until February 1747 (List of diplomats from the United Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire).

On 8 August 1752, George II

George II of Great Britain

George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...

 appointed Stanhope Aspinwall as his agent and consul general to Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

. His last appointment was as secretary to Simon Harcourt, 1st Earl Harcourt

Simon Harcourt, 1st Earl Harcourt

Simon Harcourt, 1st Earl Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, PC, FRS, Viceroy of Ireland , known as 2nd Viscount Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, between 1727 and 1749, was a British diplomat and general....

, Ambassador to France, which position Aspinwall was holding when he died on 17 January 1771.

Stanhope Aspinwall’s will dated 14 April 1747 shows that he was married to ‘Magdalena’ (other name ‘Baptistina’) and that he then had two children. One of them Elizabeth later married Sir William Neville Hart

William Neville Hart

William Neville Hart was a British banker, politician and diplomat. He was born to Denise Gougeon, the wife of Lewis Augustus Blondeau. His mother was the Under Housekeeper or Mistress of the King’s Household, a position she was to hold for more than fifty years...

. Two daughters Cecilia Frances and Margaret Catherine were baptised at St Marylebone Parish Church

St Marylebone Parish Church

-First church:The first church for the parish was built in the vicinity of the present Marble Arch c.1200, and dedicated to St John the Evangelist.-Second church:...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1751 and 1754 respectively, both presumably born after Aspinwall left Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

. Magdalena survived him. On 21 May 1771, in the Prerogative Court

Prerogative court

A prerogative court is a court through which the discretionary powers, privileges, and legal immunities reserved to the sovereign were exercised. In England in the 17th century a clash developed between these courts, representing the crown's authority, and common law courts. Prerogative courts...

 of Canterbury, Administration (with the Will annexed) were granted to her.

Stanhope Aspinwall also translated from French into English Rodogune, or, The rival brothers: a tragedy by Pierre Corneille

Pierre Corneille

Pierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...

(1606-1684), It was published in London in 1765.