George Macartney

George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney (1737–1806), was a British diplomat born in Ireland to a Scottish family. After Trinity College Dublin, he negotiated an alliance with Catherine II as envoy to Russia in 1764 and became Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1768.

He later governed Grenada and Madras, concluding the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784. Created an earl in 1792, he led Britain's first embassy to Qing China, reaching the Qianlong Emperor's court in 1793, but returned in 1794 without trade concessions. He later governed the Cape Colony, dying in 1806.