Philip Ludwell was born in England in about 1638. After serving on the Virginia Council at various times throughout the 1670's and 1680's, Ludwell became the colonial governor of North Carolina in 1689. However, John Gibbs, another politician in North Carolina, contested Ludwell's right to rule. After several disagreements, Ludwell instead became the governor of all of Carolina, basing his office in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1692. After North Carolina's deputy governor Thomas Jarvis fell ill in 1693, Ludwell assumed the full leadership of that colony until 1695 when he stepped down from the office. He retired to England, where he died in about 1723.