Explorer, Royal Navy Officer. He is remembered for his actions in battle, political achievements but mainly exploring the polar region near the North Pole. He was the oldest of five children of Constantine Phipps, the 1st Barron Mulgrave and his Irish wife, Lepel Hervey. He was distantly related to King James II of England by one of the king's mistresses. He was well-educated at Eton College excelling in mathematics, and along with classmate Joseph Banks, developed an interest in the science of nature. In 1759 during the French and Indian War or the Seven Years War, he left school and joined under his uncle, Captain August John Hervy as a fifteen-year-old cadet, hence he was part of Hervey's 21-week watch on the French fleet. During the war, he served and saw action in the Caribbean. For his good services with his uncle, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on March 17, 1762 by Sir. George Rodney and then went to serve in the battle of Havana, Cuba from March to August of 1762. It was there that he was wounded when Captain Hervey led a bold attack on Morro Castle. After the war in 1766, he had an opportunity to be part of an expedition on the “HMS Niger” that sailed toward the polar regions near the North Pole. His Eton College classmate Sir Joseph Banks was also on the adventure. Bank's diary gives details of this trip to the Island of Newfoundland and the mainland of Labrador where Phipps stays long enough to build a house and plant a garden. In 1768 he was elected Member of Parliament for Lincoln, and he became a keen attendee of the House of Commons. In 1773, Phipps led an Arctic expedition sailing on the ship “Racehorse” toward Spitsbergen, the largest city on Svalbard island in Norway, in an unsuccessful attempt to find a northeast passage to India. He named the Island of Cummingoya in Svalbard, located between Norway and the North Pole, in honor of inventor Alexander Cumming , who made many of the instruments used on the voyage including a flush toilet. During the voyage Phipps became the first European to describe in writing the appearance of the Polar Bear and the Ivory Gull, which was included in his 1773 book “A Voyage Toward the North Pole Under.” The book is still in print. He is credited with giving the Polar Bear the scientific name of Ursus Maritumus or translated from Latin “Bear Maritime”. Although the voyage was unsuccessful in its primary goal, it documented many scientific findings such as sailing through thick ice was impossible in a wooden ship. On September 3, 1775, with the death of his father, he succeeded as Baron Mulgrave in the Irish peerage and was created Baron Mulgrave in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1790. In 1777 he was appointed to the Admiralty Board and became MP for Huntingdon remaining until 1784. In July 22, 1778 he distinguished himself as captain of the “Courageux” in action with a three-decked French ship off Ushant, the French navy was supporting the colonist during the American Revolution. After an incident between Royal Navy officers August Keppal and Hugh Palliser, each had a court martial with Phipps testifying against Keppel; both officers were acquitted, thus becoming a political issue. At this point, his chief role during the rest of the American Revolution was that of Admiralty in the House of Commons; he never went to sea again. Between December 1783 and March 1784, he spoke several times in Parliament in the support of Prime Minister William Pitt's Government. In 1784 he became MP for Newark. That same year in April he became Paymaster of the Forces and on May 18th was appointed a commissioner for affairs of India and one of the Lords of “Trade and Plantations”. In 1886 he married Ann Elizabeth Cholmely, who was 25 years his junior; a year later, Anne died in childbirth leaving his only heir, a daughter. In 1790 he became a fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. He entertained miners underground in Blue John Caverns in Castleton, Debyshire. The particular cavern where they all dined as his guests is now named in honor of Phipps. Due to a decline in his health, he resigned all his ministerial appointments in 1791. Upon his death, the British peerage title of Baron Mulgrave became extinct, though his younger brother Henry succeeded him in the Irish barony. Through the years, he acquired one of the best naval libraries in England. He was not showy or well-known among his peers. At times not the best original thinker, he followed orders well as he did in the navy.