Alexander Forbes-Leith, 1st Baron Leith of Fyvie

Alexander John Forbes-Leith, 1st Baron Leith of Fyvie (6 August 1847 – 14 November 1925), was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and US steel magnate. He was born at Aberdeen on 6 August 1847.

His father, John James Leith, was the son of General Alexander Leith Hay and nephew of Sir Andrew Leith Hay.

Margaret Forbes was the daughter and heiress of Alexander Forbes, a descendant of Duncan Forbes (the second son of the second Lord Forbes). In 1854, John died at the age of 66, leaving behind Margaret and their four children. At the time, Alexander was eight years old.

Education He was educated at Berlin, Prussia, the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr and Dr. Burney's Naval Academy at Gosport, Hampshire. He later assumed the additional surname of Forbes.

Royal Navy career Forbes-Leith joined the Royal Navy in 1860 with the rank of naval cadet.

In 1889, Forbes-Leith used the fortune he had made in the steel industry to acquire Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire for £175,000 and invested large sums in its restoration. In 1905 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Leith of Fyvie, of Fyvie in the County of Aberdeen. thumb Family They had one son and two daughters (of which the youngest died as an infant). His only son Percy Forbes-Leith died while serving in the Second Boer War.

Death and legacy Leith died at Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire, in November 1925, aged 78, and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. The barony died with him. Lady Leith of Fyvie died at Hartwell House in June 1930, aged 82. Lord Leith's estates, including Fyvie Castle, passed to his daughter and only surviving child, the Honourable Ethel, wife of the former Conservative Member of Parliament Sir Charles Rosdew Burn, 1st Baronet. In 1925, the latter assumed the surname and arms of Forbes-Leith of Fyvie, for himself, his wife and son, according to the terms of his father-in-law's will (see Forbes baronets for more information on the baronetcy).