Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave

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Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave (14 February 17557 April 1831) was a British politician.

Educated at Eton College and the Middle Temple, he entered the army in 1775, and eventually rose to the rank of General. He saw service in the Caribbean during the American Revolutionary War. In 1784 Phipps was elected to the House of Commons for Totnes. He supported the government of Pitt, to whom he eventually became close. In 1790, he was elected for Scarborough in Yorkshire.

He succeeded his brother Constantine John Phipps as Baron Mulgrave in the Peerage of Ireland in 1792, but did not succeed to his brother's British title. In 1793, due to the fact that he was on a mission to the King of Sardinia in Turin, he was near at hand when British forces captured the French port of Toulon, and he briefly took command of the British land forces there, before withdrawing upon the arrival of more senior officers. In 1794 he was granted a British peerage as Baron Mulgrave, entering the House of Lords. In 1799 he was sent out on another special military mission, this time to the headquarters of the Austrian commander, Archduke Charles, to attempt to persuade him to retain his troops in Switzerland rather than removing them to the Middle Rhine, but he was unsuccessful.

Mulgrave supported Pitt when he resigned in 1801, and in return for his loyalty was rewarded with the office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (18041805) in Pitt's second government. Following an accident suffered by Lord Harrowby, Mulgrave took his place as Foreign Secretary, in which position he helped Pitt to form the Third Coalition against Napoleon.

With the death of Pitt and the formation of the Ministry of All the Talents in 1806, Mulgrave, along with the other Pittites, went into opposition, but when the Pittites returned to power in 1807, Mulgrave served in various major offices, first as First Lord of the Admiralty (1807–1810), then as Master-General of the Ordnance (1810–1819), and finally as Minister without Portfolio (1819–1820). As First Lord he was heavily involved in planning both the successful expedition against Copenhagen in 1807, and the disastrous one to Walcheren in 1809. After moving to the ordnance board, Mulgrave became less active politically. He was created Earl of Mulgrave in 1812, and was succeeded by his son, Constantine Henry, who was later created Marquess of Normanby.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Sir Philip Jennings Clerke, Bt
Launcelot Brown
Member of Parliament for Totnes
with Sir Philip Jennings Clerke, Bt 1784–1788
Viscount Barnard 1788–1790

1784–1790
Succeeded by
William Powlett Powlett
Francis Buller-Yarde
Preceded by
The Earl of Tyrconnel
George Osbaldeston
Member of Parliament for Scarborough
with The Earl of Tyrconnel

1790–1794
Succeeded by
The Earl of Tyrconnel
Edmund Phipps
Political offices
Preceded by
Lord Pelham
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1804–1805
Succeeded by
The Earl of Buckinghamshire
Preceded by
The Lord Harrowby
Foreign Secretary
1805–1806
Succeeded by
Charles James Fox
Preceded by
Thomas Grenville
First Lord of the Admiralty
1807–1810
Succeeded by
Charles Philip Yorke
Honorary Titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Carlisle
Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire
1807–1824?
Succeeded by
Viscount Howard
Military Offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Chatham
Master-General of the Ordnance
1810–1819
Succeeded by
The Duke of Wellington
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
Constantine John Phipps
Baron Mulgrave
1792–1831
Succeeded by
Constantine Henry Phipps
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by
New Creation
Baron Mulgrave
1794-1831
Succeeded by
Constantine Henry Phipps
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
New Creation
Earl of Mulgrave
1812–1831
Succeeded by
Constantine Henry Phipps
In other languages