Alexander de Forbes was trained as a warrior by his father, Sir John de Forbes of the Black Lip, and achieved great fame in tournaments and on the battlefield. He won a large estate and was elevated to Lord of Parliament.
At 12 years old, William "Grey Willie" accompanied his father, James, Master of Forbes, at the Battle of Brechin. He married into the powerful Gordon family and became allied with the chiefs of Clanchattan.
Patrick Forbes was Bishop of Aberdeen and then Chancellor of King’s College of the University of Aberdeen, where he repaired buildings, expanded the library, revived several professorships, and created a new professorship of divinity.
Grandson of Duncan Forbes, 1st Lord Culloden, James Forbes (1627 – 1692) fought at the Battle of Dunbar, was captured and shipped to New England. He became a successful landholder; and founded the Connecticut branch of the House of Forbes.
John Forbes commanded an expedition, with Ltc.-Col. George Washington, that occupied the French outpost of Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He oversaw the construction of a military trail known as the Forbes Road.
John “Ian Roy” Forbes of Skellater, Counsellor of War
1733 - 1808
John “Ian Roy” Forbes lived up to the Forbes of Skellater motto "Solus inter plurimos” ("Alone among many”) by forging his own path as a skilled warrior outside the country of his birth.
James Forbes (1749–1819) was an artist, amateur botanist and memoirist who detailed his observations of the people, animals, plants, and architecture in India, Africa, and South America.
The next time your physician places a cold stethoscope to your chest, you can thank Sir John Forbes (1787 – 1861). While he did not invent this device, he was “instrumental” in promoting its use throughout the English-speaking world.
Archibald Forbes may be the most-decorated war correspondent to have ever lived. His many awards and medals Forbes accumulated testifies to his prolific journalistic record.
Dame Katherine Jane Trefusis Forbes, Military Leader
1899 –1971
Dame Katherine Jane Trefusis Forbes, Lady Watson-Watt, DBE (1899 –1971) became the first director of the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1939.
Sir Andrew graduated from St. Catherine's College, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in 1969. He went on to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, in Berkshire, England. He gained the rank of Major in the Gordon Highlanders.
Marjory (also known as Mariota) was the daughter of Sir Henry Preston, Thane of Fermartyn. Her marriage to Sir John de Forbes established the main branch of Forbes of Tolquhon.
When James III was killed in the Battle of Sauchieburn by rebellious lords, Alexander, 4th Lord Forbes, rode through Scotland carrying the King's bloody shirt on his spear and to rouse an army to avenge him.
When the second son of Protestant John, 8th Lord Forbes, escaped his arranged marriage to become a Catholic monk in Ghent, he ignited a succession controversy that lasted three and half centuries.
Alexander Forbes, 4th Lord Pitsligo, actively supported the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745, thereby losing the substantial Pitsligo estates, forfeiting his title, and allowing Pitsligo Caste to slide into ruin.
In 1747, Rev. Robert Forbes began collecting materials for The Lyon in Mourning, or A Collection of Speeches Letters Journals Etc. Relative To the Affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.
Fatherless and poor, Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet, (1739–1806), worked his way up from a being a bank apprentice and clerk to becoming one of Scotland’s greatest bankers and philanthropists of the 18th century.
Walter, 18th Lord Forbes, fought at the Battle of Waterloo under the Duke of WellingtonForbes and Boyle (later 6th Lord Glagow) were instrumental in funding and funding the Episcopal St. Ninian's Cathedral at Perth.
Edwin Austin Forbes was an American artist who sketched and painted scenes of American Civil War, including dramatic battles, commanding portraits of the leaders, and sketches of the everyday life of a soldier.
Bertie Charles (B.C.) Forbes was born in New Deer, Aberdeenshire, s the sixth of ten children in a working-class family. He emigrated to New York City where he founded Forbes magazine, for which was editor-in-chief until his death.
Ace pilot Athol Stanhope Forbes was stationed with the 66 Squadron at Coltishall in 1940 and later as a trainer to the new No. 303 Squadron. In 1942, he published the book "Ten Fighter Boys."
Kate Elizabeth Forbes is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy from 2020 to 2023.
Elizabeth Douglas Forbes was the granddaughter of Robert III. With her marriage to Alexander , 1st Lord Forbes, she helped establish the House of Forbes estates ad bloodline.
Lady Margaret refused to surrender Corgarff Castle to Adam Gordon so he ordered the castle burned with her children. The ballad "Edom o' Gordon" tells of her bravery.
King Charles I was so impressed with Rev. William Forbes that he created the Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh, raised Saint Giles Kirk to a Cathedral, and appointed Forbes as the First Bishop of Edinburgh.
Duncan Forbes was Lord President of the Court of Sessions, equivalent to the Chief Justice, during the Jacobite Uprising in 1745. He raised the alarm about the invasion, raised troops, and argued for leniency towards the defeated leaders.
The second son of George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard in Ireland joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14 in 1726 and rose to become Great Britain’s Admiral of the Fleet.
John “Bombay Jock” Forbes built a trading and banking empire in India that survives to this day in the form of Forbes & Company, one of the oldest continuously operating firms in the world.
James Ochoncar, 17th Lord Forbes, enjoyed a distinguished military career, rising to General in command of the 21st or Royal Scots Fusiliers. He expanded Putachie House into the Castle Forbes known today
Captain Robert Bennet (Ben) Forbes commanded the USS Jamestown during America’s first international relief effort, bringing food to County Cork during the Irish Potato Famine.
Sara Forbes Bonetta was a West African Egbado princess of the Yoruba people who was orphaned and rescued by Captain Frederick Edwyn Forbes of the Royal Navy. She became a goddaughter to Queen Victoria.
Actor, lecturer, and author Beatrice Forbes-Robertson became an outspoken advocate for a woman’s right to vote and wrote the book "What Women Want: An Interpretation of the Feminist Movement."
James, 2nd Lord Forbes, benefitted greatly from his father’s great fortune, land, and influence. As husband of the granddaughter of Robert III, he added to that heritage in his own right.
In 1604, Rev. Alexander Forbes was appointed as Episcopal Bishop of Caithness and was a member of the 1610 General Assembly when Episcopacy was fully ratified. King James VI later appointed him as Bishop of Aberdeen.
Son of the Rev. John Forbes, John Fobes followed the Puritans to the Plymouth Colony as an indentured tradesman, acquired land and a minor position, and was the progenitor of generations of Forbes in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
James, 15th Lord Forbes, recruited soldiers for the 1715 Jacobite rebellion led by John Erskine, Earl of Mar, on behalf of James Francis Edward Stuart, son of deposed James II and VII. He avoided involvement in subsequent attempts.
James, later 16th Lord Forbes, was a captain in the 25th Foot Infantry of the British Army and helped defeat the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden. Due to debt , he was forced to sell Druminnor Castle.
Successful portrait artist Anne Forbes gave up a thriving business in London to teach and paint in Edinburgh. In 1788, she was appointed Portrait Painter to the Society of Antiquaries in Edinburgh.
Sir Charles Forbes of Newe and Edinglassie, 1st Baronet, (1774–1849) was the head of the first mercantile house in India and later became a politician and philanthropist.
Katherine "Kate" Mary Furbish was highly regarded botanist, who lived in Maine, USA. Her research and studies are included at Harvard University and Bowdoin College. She was a founder or member of many Botanist Societies.
Stanhope Alexander Forbes was an influential artist. He is known for his paintings, and as the co-founder, with his wife Elizabeth, of the Forbes School at Newlyn.
Esther Louise Forbes Forbes was an American novelist and historian who received the Pulitzer Prize and the Newbery Medal. Here most popular works are Johnny Tremain and Paul Revere and the World He Lived In.
Nigel Ivan, 22nd Lord Forbes, served in the Coldstream Guards and bacame captain in the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. He participated in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth and served as Minister of State.
