Philip Henry Muntz

Philip Henry Muntz (21 January 1811 – 25 December 1888) was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He was a leading figure in the politics of the rapidly growing industrial town of Birmingham in the mid-nineteenth century.

The Muntz family originated in modern Lithuania. Philip Henry was the son of Philip Frederick Muntz, who had moved from France to Birmingham in the late eighteenth century, and established the metal working business of Muntz & Purden. He married his business partner's daughter Catherine and made his residence at Selly Hall, Selly Oak, Worcestershire. Philip Henry was the youngest of the couple's children, born in the same year as his father's death.

Following education at Shrewsbury School, Muntz entered business as a merchant in Birmingham. In 1831 he married Wilhelmine D'Olhofen, daughter of the finance minister of the Grand Duchy of Baden.

Together with his elder brother, George Frederic Muntz, Philip was active in Radical politics. In August 1838 they addressed a large Chartist meeting was held near Birmingham. The two brothers were selected as part of an eight-person delegation to represent the English Midlands at a "general convention of the industrial classes" in London, which was to present the People's Charter to parliament.

In March 1837 Muntz organised a meeting to decide on whether Birmingham should apply for a charter of incorporation under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The meeting unanimously decided to begin the process of petitioning for a charter, which was granted in October of the following year. Birmingham was duly incorporated as a municipal borough in November 1838, and Muntz was elected as an alderman on the new town council. In 1839 he was elected as the second mayor of the borough, holding the office for two terms. The new town council was dismissed by many Radicals who saw it as a creation of the rival Whigs. In 1839 riots broke out in the Bull Ring, leading to the government taking over policing in Birmingham and creating a force under the control of the Home Office. The position of the Radicals on the council was undermined by the militant followers of Feargus O'Connor who advocated resisting the "government police" by armed means. When Muntz tried to chair a meeting of ratepayers on the policing situation in November 1839, he was booed and jeered. He remained a member of the town council until 1856.

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