Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Constantine John Phipps, 2nd Baron Mulgrave (30 May 1744 – 10 October 1792) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer, explorer and politician. He served during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, seeing action in a number of battles and engagements. Inheriting a title, he also went on to have a successful career in Parliament and occupied a number of political offices during his later years.

Family and early life

Phipps was born on 30 May 1744, the eldest son of Constantine Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave and his wife, Lepel Hervey, the eldest daughter of John 2nd Baron Hervey of Ickworth and Mary 'Molly' Lepel. Phipps attended

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, where he befriended

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

, the English naturalist, botanist, and later patron of the natural sciences.

Seven Years' War

In January 1759, he joined the 70-gun as a cadet under his uncle Captain Augustus Hervey during Hervey's 21-week watch on the French fleet in 1759. Phipps remained with his uncle on the latter's appointment to the 74-gun in 1761, and was present at the British expedition against Martinique. His good service led to his promotion to lieutenant on 17 March 1762 by Sir

George Rodney Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, Order of the Bath, KB (baptism, bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his commands ...

, and Phipps went on to serve in the

siege of Havana The siege of Havana was the successful capture of the Spanish-held city of Havana, Cuba in 1762 as part of the war between the two nations which formed part of the larger Seven Years' War. After the Spanish abandoned their former policy of neu ...

. He was further promoted on 24 November 1763 to command the 12-gun sloop , moving to the 24-gun

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

''Terpsichore'' on 20 June 1765. In 1766, he sailed to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

as lieutenant on under Captain Sir Thomas Adams.

accompanied him as ship's naturalist. From 1767 to 1768, Phipps commanded in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

Political career and command

Phipps was elected to Parliament in the 1768 general election as Member for the constituency of Lincoln. On 4 June 1773, Phipps set off from

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

on a voyage towards the North Pole. He had two ships, the and the . Phipps took with him Dr Charles Irving as naturalist and doctor accompanied by

Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano (; c. 1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa (), was a writer and abolitionist. According to his memoir, he was from the village of Essaka in present day southern Nigeria. Enslaved as a child in ...

, and Israel Lyons (1739–1775) as astronomer. The ''Carcass'' was commanded by Skeffington Lutwidge, while one of her midshipmen was a young

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

. They sailed beyond

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

to the Seven Islands, but were forced back by the ice and returned to

Orford Ness Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Weir Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from th ...

on 17 September. During the voyage, Phipps was the first modern European to describe the polar bear and the ivory gull, which were included in his ''A Voyage towards the North Pole undertaken ... 1773'' (1774). Constantine_John_Baron_Mulgrave

On 13 September 1775, he succeeded his father as Baron Mulgrave in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. He became MP for

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

in 1777, and was also appointed as one of the

Lords of the Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

. Continuing an active naval career, he commissioned the 74-gun in 1778, and played a leading role in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July that year. Phipps led the attack on the 90-gun , but the indecisive nature of the engagement meant that the French ship was able to escape. Phipps returned to Britain and gave evidence at the subsequent court-martial, his evidence favouring

Hugh Palliser Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet (26 February 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As captain of the 58-gun HMS ''Eagle'' he engaged and defeated the French 50-gun ''Duc d'Aquitain'' off Ushant in May 1757 du ...

. The ''Courageux'' remained under his command until 1781, with Phipps serving mostly in the Channel under Admirals Charles Hardy, Francis Geary,

George Darby Vice-Admiral George Darby ( 1720 – 1790) was an officer of the British Royal Navy. He commanded HMS ''Norwich'' at the capture of Martinique in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. He went on to command the Western Squadron during the Ameri ...

and Richard Howe. In the action of 4 January 1781, he captured the 32-gun French frigate ''Minerve'' in heavy weather off Brest. The ''Courageux'' was paid off at the end of the

, and Phipps went ashore, never to serve at sea again.

Later life

Phipps remained as MP for Huntingdon until 1784, when he became MP for Newark. In April that year, he became

Paymaster of the Forces The Paymaster of the Forces was a position in the British government. The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration (1660), Restoration of the Monarchy to Charles II of England, and was responsible for part of the financin ...

and on 18 May, he was appointed a commissioner for the affairs of India, and one of the

Lords of Trade and Plantations Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina *Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 19 ...

, until being forced to resign in 1791 due to ill health. In 1790, he was made Baron Mulgrave of Mulgrave in the County of York in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

, thus entering the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He also was a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

and of the Society of Antiquaries. He once entertained his miners underground in the Blue John Caverns in Castleton,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. The particular cavern where they all dined as his guests is now named after him. He died at

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

on 10 October 1792. The title of Baron Mulgrave in the British peerage then became extinct, though his brother Henry Phipps succeeded him in the Irish barony.

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