Grant, Charles
Dates | 1763-67, 1769-1772, c.1790-1823 | ||
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Location | London | ||
Vocation | Director of the East India Company | ||
Place of Birth | Aldourie farmhouse, Glen Urquhart (Inverness-shire) | ||
Marriage | Jane Fraser | ||
Issue | 4 daughters, 3 sons | ||
Place of birth | Source | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |
Orphaned at a young age but his uncle, John Grant, supported him - sending him to school in Elgin. Apprenticed to William Forsyth, a Cromarty shipowner and merchant. Was then sent to his cousin, Captain Alexander Grant, to work in a mercantile house at Aldermanbury, London; remained for five and a half years, becoming head clerk. Wanting to improve his station and finances even more, sailed for India (1767-69). Presumably returned to London where he remained until a second trip to India in 1772, where he would spend nearly 20 years. Worried about his family's health, the Grants returned to England c.1790. Elected as director of the East India Company in 1794 (until 1804), but brought back in 1815. Active politician and evangelical reformer. Died at his home at 40 Russell Square in 1823.