   john forbes (5 september 1707 &ndash; 11 march 1759) was a british general in the french and indian war. he is best known for leading the forbes expedition that captured the french outpost at fort duquesne and for naming the city of pittsburgh, pennsylvania after british secretary of state william pitt the elder. ==early life==  forbes was born on his family's pittencrieff estate in dunfermline, fife, scotland in 1707, the son of an army officer. after beginning to study medicine, he decided in his second year as a student to become a soldier and was accepted and commissioned as a lieutenant in the scots greys in 1735. he saw action in the war of the austrian succession and in the jacobite rising of 1745, serving under the duke of cumberland as acting quartermaster-general. ==seven years' war==  when the french and indian war (called the seven years' war in europe) broke out, forbes was sent to the fighting in the new world. his first action in north america came in 1757 when he was dispatched to reinforce an attack on the french fortress of louisburg in what is now nova scotia. in december 1757, he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to command an expedition to capture fort duquesne, which guarded the vital forks of the ohio river. general edward braddock had tried and failed to capture the fort in 1755, with disastrous consequences for both the british army and braddock himself, who was mortally wounded in a bloody engagement nine miles short of the objective. lt. colonel george washington, who had been a member of braddockâs campaign, accompanied the expedition, serving at the fore of one of the virginia provincial regiments. a swiss-born colonel of the royal american regiment, henry bouquet, served as forbes' second-in-command. thumb|left|400px|forbes road in the summer of 1758, forbes began his campaign to capture fort duquesne. his plan was 
1707_births 1759_deaths British_Army_generals British_Army_personnel_of_the_Jacobite_rising_of_1745 British_Army_personnel_of_the_War_of_the_Austrian_Succession British_military_personnel_of_the_French_and_Indian_War Burials_at_Christ_Church_(Philadelphia) People_from_Dunfermline Royal_Leicestershire_Regiment_officers Royal_Scots_Greys_officers