1740 Conclave

elected Benedict XIV

18 February – 17 August 1740 · The early modern conclaves · Apostolic Palace, Papal States

The initial favourite to succeed as pope, the elderly Pietro Ottoboni (1667–1740), Dean of the College of Cardinals, died shortly after the beginning of the conclave, and cardinals loyal to the House of Bourbon repeatedly proposed Pompeo Aldrovandi, but eventually had to accept that he could not secure two-thirds of the votes.

Elected pope

Benedict XIV

Prospero Lambertini

Succeeded

—

Duration

6 months

Cardinal electors

—

locked in under conclave rules

Key officials

Dean	Pietro Ottoboni
Camerlengo	Annibale Albani

Ballot-by-ballot tallies are destroyed by design — the paper is burned in the stove whose smoke announces the result — so this entry records what the Church documents: the dates, the electors, the number of ballots where known, and the man who walked out onto the balcony.