Grant, John Peter (1774 -1848)

Possibly the crest of Sir John Peter Grant (1774-1848) of the Doune, Rothiemurchus, Inverness-shire. He was the only son of William Grant, MD, of Lime Street, London and Elizabeth, daughter, and heiress of John Raper of Twyford House, Essex and Thorley Hall, Herts. He received his education from Edinburgh High School and Edinburgh University in 1790, after which he was called to Lincoln’s Inn.
His extravagance in financial affairs led to the squandering of his inheritance. His political aspirations were also disappointed. From 1812 to 1818 he was the Whig M.P. for Grimsby, and from 1819 to 1826 the M.P. for Tavistock. He was knighted 30 June 1827. In September 1827 he was saved from financial embarrassment by his appointment as a puisne judge in Bombay. In 1830 he moved to Calcutta where there years later he was appointed puisne judge of the Bengal Supreme Court. He retired in early 1848, at the age of 73, but died at sea on his way home and was buried in Edinburgh.
On 2 August 1796 he married Jane, daughter of Rev. William Ironside of Houghton-le-Spring, co. Durham, and had two sons and three daughters. His second son, John Peter Grant (1807-1893), had a distinguished career as an Indian administrator and was governor of Jamaica from 1866 to 1874.

There were two sales of his library by auction at Edinburgh in 1830 and 1831.