Matthew Prior ( 1664 - 1721 )

Birth: Wimborne, Cambridgeshire, England (21 July 1664 ) Death: Lord Harley's seat of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire (18 September 1721) Burial: Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, London Profession: Diplomat Poet Education: Westminster School; St John's College, Cambridge; BA (1787), MA (1700) Career: As a boy, did the accounts for his uncle, Samuel Prior of the Rhenish Wine House in Cannon Row; came under the patronage of Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset (FRS 1699); Fellow of St John's (1688-1721); Secretary to the Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl Berkeley (FRS 1667), Ambassador at The Hague (1690-1697); Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King William (1691); Secretary to the Embassy at Paris (1698-1699); Under-Secretary of State (South) (1699-1700); Commissioner of Trade (1700-1707); MP for East Grinstead (1701); involved in negotiations for the Treaty of Utrecht; Plenipotentiary at Paris (1712-1714); Commissioner of Customs (1712-1714); impeached by Sir Robert Walpole and put under the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms (1715-1717); Benefactor to St John's College, Cambridge Membership: Fellow Election Date: 23/03/1698 Proposers: Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax.