Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, 10th Baronet FRS (13 November 1806 – 6 April 1881) was an English palaeontologist and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1830 and 1881.
Egerton was the son of Sir Philip Grey Egerton, 9th Baronet and his wife Rebecca du Pre daughter of Josias du Pre of Wilton Park, Beaconsfield. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated BA in 1828.[1] While at college his interest in geology was aroused by the lectures of William Buckland, and by his acquaintance with William D. Conybeare. HE inherited the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1829. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1831, and was a trustee of the British Museum.
While travelling in Switzerland with Lord Cole (later to be 3rd earl of Enniskillen) they were introduced to Prof. L Agassiz at Neufchâtel, and determined to make a special study of fossil fish. During the course of fifty years they gradually gathered together two of the largest and finest of private collections—that of Sir Philip Grey Egerton being at Oulton Park, Tarporley, Cheshire.
Egerton described the structure and affinities of numerous species in the publications of the Geological Society of London, the Geological Magazine and the Decades of the Geological Survey; and in recognition of his services the Wollaston medal was awarded to him in 1873 by the Geological Society. He was also a member of Grillion's Club, and compiled a history of the club's first fifty years in a book: 'Grillion's Club: From Its Origin in 1812 To Its Fiftieth Anniversary', published in 1880.
Egerton was a Deputy Lieutenant and J.P. for Cheshire and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Cheshire Yeoman Cavalry.[1] He was elected Member of Parliament for the city of Chester in 1830 but lost the seat in 1831. He stood unsuccessfully at Cheshire South in 1832 but was elected in 1835 and held the seat until 1868. He was elected MP for West Cheshire from 1868 until his death in London in 1881.[2]
Egerton's collection of fossil fishes is now in the British Museum. He is commemorated in the name of the Rusty-fronted Barwing Actinodura egertoni.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Viscount Belgrave Lord Robert Grosvenor |
Member for Chester 1830–1831 With: Lord Robert Grosvenor |
Succeeded by Lord Robert Grosvenor Foster Cunliffe-Offley |
| Preceded by George Wilbraham Earl Grosvenor |
Member for South Cheshire 1835–1868 With: George Wilbraham 1835–1841 John Tollemache 1841–1868 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member for West Cheshire 1868–1881 With: John Tollemache 1868–1872 Hon. Wilbraham Tollemache 1872–1881 |
Succeeded by Hon. Wilbraham Tollemache Henry James Tollemache |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| Preceded by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, 9th Baronet |
Baronet (of Egerton, Cheshire) 1829–1881 |
Succeeded by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, 11th Baronet |