Sir William Temple (1628-99), English statesman and essayist. Temple was born in London and educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After travelling through Europe he entered the Irish parliament and worked on various diplomatic missions. His most important work was negotiating the marriage between William III of Orange and Mary, eldest daughter of James II of England. William eventually became William III of England. Temple engaged in a seven-year courtship with Dorothy Osborne, against the wishes of her family. This resulted in Osborne writing some of the most famous letters of the time, combining with social observation. This photo-engraved portrait was published in the collected Letters from Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple of 1888.