Mark Philips
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Mark Philips (1800 – 23 December 1873) was an English politician, and one of the first pair of Members of Parliament for Manchester of the post-reform era.
Born in Whitefield, Bury, Lancashire, the son of a prosperous merchant, Philips was educated at the Manchester Academy while it was in York.
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. He also played an important role in establishing the UK's first free public library in 1852.
Philips donated the land that became Peel Park, Salford.
[edit] Honours
- Philips Park is named for him.
- There is a statue in Manchester Town Hall.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
This page incorporates information from Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page.
| 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 Gregg, 1839–1841 Thomas Milner Gibson, 1841–1847 1832–1847 |
Succeeded by: Thomas Milner Gibson John Bright |
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