Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope

Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope FRS (15 August 1714 – 7 March 1786) was a British peer.

Stanhope's paternal aunt, Mary ffane, describes his birth

The son of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope and Lucy Pitt, he succeeded to his father's titles in 1721. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society from 1735, and had a lifelong interest in mathematics. As a patron of various mathematicians, he came into contact with Thomas Bayes, one of the founders of Bayesian inference.

On 25 July 1745, he married Grizel Hamilton, daughter of Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning. They had two sons:

• Philip Stanhope, Viscount Mahon (24 June 1746 – 6 July 1763)
• Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope (1753–1816)

References

• Lundy, Darryl. "p. 2877 § 28764". The Peerage. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
• Sharon McGrayne The Theory That Would Not Die (Yale 2011) Ch 1.