Sir William Temple - b1628 d1699 - An English diplomat and essay writer. William Temple negotiated the Triple Alliance (1688) of England, Holland and Sweden against France. William Temple was an outstanding essay writer and retired to Moor Park to write his memoirs. His wife (1627-1694) was a notable letter-writer and 42 of her letters were published in T P Courtney's Life of William Temple. Lord Macaulay wrote an essay about them in the Edinburgh Review. He wrote his famous essay Upon the Gardens of Epicurus: or Of Gardening, in the Year 1685