Mark Philips (4 November 1800 – 23 December 1873)[1] was an English Liberal Party politician, and one of the first pair of Members of Parliament for Manchester after the Great Reform Act.
[citation needed] His younger brother, Robert Needham Philips, was MP for Bury[3] and other members of his extended family were also elected to the House of Commons; all of them, as with Mark, supported the ideals of Manchesterism.
[5][6] The town of Manchester was deprived of its parliamentary representation in 1660 in reprisal for its support of the Parliamentarian faction during the English Civil War.
[6][7] Philips also played an important role in establishing England's first free public library in 1852[6] and he was President of his old school, Manchester Academy, from 1842 to 1846 and from 1871 until his death.
[2] Philips donated money to many causes including £1,000 towards the fund for the provision of open spaces and parks for the City of Manchester.