Mark Philips
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Mark Philips (4 November 1800 – 23 December 1873)[1] was an English Liberal Party politician, and one of the first pair of Members of Parliament for Manchester after the Great reform act.[2]
Born in Whitefield, Bury, Lancashire, the son of Robert Philips, a prosperous merchant[2] and Anne Needham[citation needed]. He was educated at the Manchester Academy while it was in York and then at the University of Glasgow.[citation needed] His younger brother, Robert Needham Philips, was also MP for Bury.[citation needed]
The town of Manchester was deprived of its parliamentary representation in 1660 in reprisal for its support of the Parliamentarian faction during the English Civil War. Representation was only restored following the Great Reform Act of 1832. (See main article History of Manchester.)
He and Charles Poulett Thomson were the first pair of MPs elected in that year. He represented the city in Parliament until 1847, an active member of the Anti-Corn Law League. A champion of universal education, in 1837 he chaired a meeting that led to the creation of the Lancashire Public Schools' Association which was instrumental in establishing a system of publicly-funded schooling in the UK.[3] He also played an important role in establishing the UK's first free public library in 1852 and he was President of his old school Manchester Academy from 1842-1846 and from 1871 until his death.[citation needed] He was High Sheriff of Warwickshire for 1851.[2]
Philips donated the land that became Peel Park, Salford.[3]
He died, aged 73, at Welcombe House, Snitterfield, near Stratord-on-Avon.[1]
[edit] Honours
- Philips Park, one of the world's first municipal parks, is named after him.[3]
- There is a statue in Manchester Town Hall.[3]
- An obelisk erected in memory of Philips in 1876 stands on the family's former estate outside Stratford-upon-Avon.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Plaque to Mark Philips on Welcombe Bank Obelisk. geograph. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
- ^ a b c Mark Philips. Spartacus Educational. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
- ^ a b c d Mark Philips MP. Papillon Graphics' Virtual Encyclopaedia of Greater Manchester. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
- ^ Welcombe Bank Obelisk. geograph. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
[edit] External links
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
- Mark Philips MP. Papillon Graphics' Virtual Encyclopaedia of Greater Manchester. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
- Mark Philips. Spartacus Educational. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by (new constituency) |
Member of Parliament for Manchester 2-seat constituency (with Charles Poulett Thomson, 1832–1839 Robert Hyde Greg, 1839–1841 Thomas Milner Gibson, 1841–1847 1832–1847 |
Succeeded by Thomas Milner Gibson John Bright |
 |
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