Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754.

He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who served in Pelham's government and succeeded him as prime minister.

Pelham is generally considered to have been Britain's third prime minister, after Robert Walpole and the Earl of Wilmington.

He was educated at Westminster School, and matriculated at King's College, Cambridge at Easter 1709,[1] then migrated to Hart Hall, Oxford (the present-day Hertford College), matriculating on 6 September 1710,[2] upon the appointment of his tutor Richard Newton as Principal of Hart Hall.

He was returned as Member of Parliament for Seaford in Sussex by his brother, the Duke of Newcastle, at a by-election on 28 February 1717 and represented it until 1722.

He, Newcastle, and the Prime Minister would often meet at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, where they would draw up much of the country's policy.

[5] In 1742 a union of parties resulted in the formation of an administration in which Pelham became Prime Minister the following year, succeeding the Earl of Wilmington after his death.

King George II, thwarted in his own favourite schemes, made overtures in February 1746 to Lord Bath, but his purpose was upset by the resignation of the two Pelhams (Henry and Newcastle), who, after a two-day hiatus in which Bath and Carteret (now earl Granville) proved unable to form a ministry, resumed office at the king's request.

The Augustan era was essential to the development of prime ministerial power as being entirely dependent on a Commons majority, rather than royal prerogative interventions.

One social consequence of the press gangs going to sea in an expansive navy fleet was the growth of industrial processes necessary for warfare.

Preaching in favour of temperance, and social problems caused by drunken soldiers and sailors, persuaded the administration to introduce the Gin Acts.

The Gin Act 1751 was the last of four that had largely failed to prevent serious social unrest, including riots in London, reduced the number licensed dealers and sellers of liquor.

[8]Pelham married Lady Catherine Manners, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Rutland, on 31 October 1726 in the Parish of St James, City of Westminster.

[10] They had four daughters: When Pelham was elevated to Prime Minister, he began construction of a house located at 22 Arlington Street in St James's, Westminster.