Constantine John Phipps was born in 1744, the eldest
son of the first Baron Mulgrave, a peer of Ireland. In 1760, he entered the
Navy, serving in the West Indies before advancing to the rank of lieutenant in
1762 and commander in 1763. He embarked upon a career in politics in 1768 when
he was elected Member of Parliament for Lincoln.
In 1773, Phipps led the British Naval North Polar
Expedition, sent by the Admiralty to determine how far navigation was possible
toward the North Pole from Spitsbergen. Sailing in HMS Racehorse, in company
with HMS Carcass under Captain Skeffington Lutwidge, the expedition reached a
farthest north of 80° 48 minutes North in July 1773 before impenetrable ice
forced them to turn back. His narrative of the expedition was published in
1774.
On the death of his father in 1775, Phipps succeeded
as second Baron Mulgrave and was later created a peer of Great Britain as Baron
Mulgrave in 1790. In 1777, he won the parliamentary seat for Huntingdon and was
appointed a lord of the Admiralty. At the Battle of Ushant in 1778, he
commanded HMS Courageux, in which he remained until the end of the war in 1783.
In 1784, Phipps was elected Member of Parliament for Newark-upon-Trent and was
appointed joint paymaster-general of the forces, later serving as commissioner
for the affairs of India. Resigning due to ill health in 1791, he died on 10
October 1792 at Liege.
Published work: A voyage towards the North Pole
undertaken by His Majesty's command, 1773 by Constantine John Phipps.
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