George Forbes, 4th Earl of Granard

George Forbes, 4th Earl of Granard (15 March 1710 – 16 October 1769) was an Irish soldier and politician.

He was the eldest son of George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard by his wife Mary, daughter of William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy; while heir-apparent to the earldom he was styled Viscount Forbes.

Forbes entered the Army in 1726, and served as Quartermaster-General in Ireland from 1754 to 1757. He was lieutenant-colonel in the Tangier Regiment in 1756, then colonel of the 76th Regiment of Foot the same year. He was promoted to major-general in 1759, transferred to the colonelcy of the 29th Regiment of Foot in 1761, and was promoted lieutenant-general in 1765.

Besides his military career, Forbes sat in the Irish House of Commons for Mullingar from 1749 until he succeeded to his father's seat in the Irish House of Lords in 1765. He was a Governor of County Longford from 1756 and Custos Rotulorum of Longford from 1765 until his death.

Marriage and succession

On 16 July 1736 Forbes was married to his cousin Letitia, daughter of Arthur Davys of Hampstead by his wife Catherine, daughter of the 1st Viscount Mountjoy. They had one son, George, who succeeded to the earldom. Lady Granard died on 19 May 1778.

References

• Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Granard, Earl of (I, 1684) in Cracroft's Peerage. Accessed 4 December 2012.