Arthur Stephens Philpotts (13 October – 12 August 1920) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

naval officer and politician. Born at Bishopstowe in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

, Philpotts was educated at

Chudleigh Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England; it is sited between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 5,919 at the 2021 United Kingdo ...

Grammar School, and then the

Royal Academy, Gosport Dr. Burney's Academy, founded 1791 by William Burney (1762 – December 1832), was a preparatory school or "crammer" in Gosport, Hampshire, England, whose aim was to prepare young men for the Royal Navy's entrance examinations and a naval c ...

. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1858. He was serving on-board HMS ''Bombay'' as a sub-lieutenant when the ship caught fire and sank off Montevideo in December 1864 with the loss of 92 crew. He serving with the

British expedition to Abyssinia The British Expedition to Abyssinia was a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire (also known at the time as Abyssinia). Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, ...

, winning a mention in dispatches. He also served in the suppression of the African slave trade. He became a commander in 1880 and was a divisional officer in the coastguard from 1882 until 1888. He retired in 1895, gaining appointment as a captain. In the

1895 UK general election The 1895 United Kingdom general election was held from 13 July to 7 August 1895. The result was a Conservative parliamentary majority of 153. William Gladstone had retired as prime minister the previous year, and Queen Victoria, disregarding G ...

, Philpotts was elected for the Conservative Party in

, serving until his retirement in 1900.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philpotts, Arthur 1844 births 1920 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Devon Politicians from Torquay Royal Navy officers UK MPs 1895–1900 Military personnel from Torquay