Sir John Macdonald Kinneir (3 February 1782 – 11 June 1830) was a Scottish army officer of the East India Company, diplomat and traveller.
In 1802, he was nominated to a cadetship by Sir William Bensley, under the surname Macdonald, which was used in Indian army lists for the rest of his life.
[1] Kinneir was attached to Sir John Malcolm's mission in Persia in 1808–9, during part of which time he was supernumerary agent at Bushehr, and travelled widely.
Military operations followed, during which Kinneir was with the Persian army, until, on 19 October 1827, Erivan Fortress was stormed by Ivan Paskievich's troops.
[1] The Russians accepted Kinneir's mediation, and a treaty was signed at Turkmenchay on 23 February 1828, involving a loss of territory to Persia and the end of the influence previously enjoyed by the British mission.