Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope

Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope, FRS, was born on 15 August 1714. He was the son of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope, and Lucy Pitt. He inherited his father's titles in 1721 upon his father's death.

Stanhope was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1735. Throughout his life, he maintained an interest in mathematics and the sciences. In 1774, he became a member of the American Philosophical Society. His engagement with scientific pursuits often took precedence over political involvement.

He established close relationships with notable natural philosophers, including Joseph Priestley and Benjamin Franklin. As a patron of various mathematicians, Stanhope interacted with Thomas Bayes, who is recognized as one of the founders of Bayesian inference.

On 25 July 1745, Stanhope married Grizel Hamilton, the daughter of Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning. They had two sons: Philip Stanhope, Viscount Mahon, born on 24 June 1746 and died on 6 July 1763; and Charles Stanhope, who became the 3rd Earl Stanhope, born on 3 August 1753 and died on 15 December 1816.

Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope, passed away on 7 March 1786.

References for this information include Darryl Lundy’s entry on The Peerage and Sharon McGrayne’s book "The Theory That Would Not Die," specifically chapter 1.