Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope

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Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope by Carlo Pellegrini, 1874.

Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope (January 30, 1805 – December 24, 1875), was an English historian, better known as Lord Mahon. He was the son of the 4th Earl. His wife, Catherine Stanhope (nee Smith), Countess Stanhope was daughter of Lord Carrington.

He took his degree at Christ Church, Oxford, in 1827, and entered Parliament in 1830, representing the rotten borough of Wootton Basset until the seat was disenfranchised in 1832. He was then re-elected to Parliament representing Hertford. He was Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for the early months of 1835, and Secretary to the Board of Control in 1845, but though he remained in the House of Commons till 1852, he made no special mark in politics.

His chief achievements were in the fields of literature and antiquities.

In 1842 took a prominent part in passing the Literary Copyright Act 1842.
He was a trustee of the British Museum.
From the House of Lords he was mainly responsible for proposing and organising the foundation of the National Portrait Gallery, London in 1856. A sculpted bust of Stanhope holds the central place over the entrance of the building, flanked by fellow historians and supporters Thomas Carlyle and Lord Macaulay.^[1]
It was mainly due to him that in 1869 the Historical Manuscripts Commission was started.
As president of the Society of Antiquaries (from 1846 onwards), it was he who called attention in England to the need of supporting the excavations at Troy.
In 1855 he founded the Stanhope essay prize at Oxford.

Of his own works, the most important are his Life of Belisarius (1829); History of the War of Succession in Spain (1832), largely based on the first earl's papers; History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles (1836-1853); Life of William Pitt (1861-1862); History of England, comprising the reign of Queen Anne until the Peace of Utrecht (1870, reprinted 1908); and Notes of Conversation with the Duke of Wellington, 1831-1851 (1886, reprinted 1998).

The two histories and the Life of William Pitt are of great importance on account of Stanhope's unique access to manuscript authorities on Pitt the Elder's life, and they remain standard works; and though here and there he has been found to give credit for too much to Pitt, his industry, clear though not brilliant style, and general impartiality in criticism, have been deservedly praised. Similarly, his records of the Iron Duke's remarks during his frequent visits are of great utility to the historian, and take the place of the Duke's never-written memoirs; they were secretly transcribed because of the Duke's famous antagonism to the "truth" of recollected history.

His position as an historian was already established when he succeeded to the earldom in 1855, and in 1872 he was made an honorary associate of the Institute of France. He was president of the Royal Literary Fund from 1863 until his death. He was succeeded as 6th earl by his son Arthur Philip (1838-1905), father of the 7th earl. His second son, Edward Stanhope (1840-1893), was a well-known Conservative politician, who filled various important offices, and was finally secretary of state for war (1886-1892). Another son, Philip James Stanhope, Lord Weardale (1847-1923), was a Liberal politician who became president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Political offices
Preceded by Viscount Fordwich	Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1834–1835	Succeeded by William Fox-Strangways
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Philip Henry Stanhope	Earl Stanhope 1855–1875	Succeeded by Arthur Philip Stanhope