About Our Name

The Forbes Funds’ name connects us to the region we serve, the region we call home.

Forbes is a familiar and historical name in the Pittsburgh region. General John Forbes commanded the British and Colonial troops who captured Fort Duquesne from the French in November 1758. The fort, situated where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers form the Ohio River, was renamed Fort Pitt, in honor of the British Prime Minister William Pitt. The City of Pittsburgh now stands where Fort Pitt once guarded America’s frontier.

In an address entitled “Early Landmarks and Names of Old Pittsburgh,” delivered at the Carnegie Institute before the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on November 30, 1923, Anne Clark Miller described the name Forbes:

General Forbes could have honored, or had himself honored, by giving to this city the name Forbesburgh. The whole British nation would have applauded such an act. But he chose to honor one of the world’s greatest men. The name of one of the six main east and west thoroughfares is Pittsburgh’s memorial to General Forbes. One of our largest public schools bears his name – and the tablet at the old Block House, erected by the Daughters in 1915, commemorating the British occupation of Fort Duquesne, is a tribute to his brilliant leadership. “Forbes Field,” at the Forbes Street entrance of Schenley Park, is acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful athletic fields in this country.

Across Pittsburgh, the Forbes name is as familiar now as it was in 1923 or even in 1758.