Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall

Major-General Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall (1666 – 10 April 1706), was an English Army officer and peer.

Early life He was the eldest son of Arthur Chichester, 2nd Earl of Donegall, and Jane Itchingham (–1712). Among his siblings were Lady Jane Chichester (wife of Dacre Barrett) and Lady Mary Chichester (wife of Sir Robert Newcomen, 6th Baronet). His father served as Custos Rotulorum for County Antrim and Governor of Carrickfergus for twelve years before dying in Ireland in 1678. After his father's death, his mother married Richard Rooth of Epsom, son of Sir Richard Rooth, with whom she had two more daughters.

His father was the eldest son of Lady Mary Jones and Lt.Col. John Chichester, who was MP for Dungannon and fought in the English Civil War. After his grandfather's death, his grandmother married Col. Christopher Copley of Wadworth.

Military career Having made a career in the English Army, Lord Donegall founded the 35th Regiment of Foot in Belfast in 1701, becoming its first Colonel. In 1704 he accompanied the regiment to fight in the War of the Spanish Succession in Spain, and was appointed major general of Spanish forces. He was killed in action in 1706 at Fort Montjuich near Barcelona, and was buried in that city.

Personal life Sometime before 1682, he married Lady Barbara Boyle, a daughter of Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, and Lady Margaret Howard (a daughter of the 2nd Earl of Suffolk). Lady Donegall died on 16 November 1682 without surviving issue.

After her death, he married Lady Catherine Forbes (d. 1743), daughter of Arthur Forbes, 1st Earl of Granard, and Catherine Newcomen (a daughter of Sir Robert Newcomen), on 27 July 1685. Together, they were the parents of:

Arthur Chichester, 4th Earl of Donegall (1695–1757), who married Lady Lucy Ridgeway, daughter of Robert Ridgeway, 4th Earl of Londonderry, in 1716.

Lord Donegall died on 10 April 1706 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Arthur. His widow, the dowager Lady Donegall, died on 15 June 1743. After the 4th Earl died without issue in 1757, the title passed to his nephew (the 3rd Earl's grandson), Arthur, who was created Baron Fisherwick in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1790 and Marquess of Donegall in the Peerage of Ireland on 4 July 1791.