Gordon, Charles George, 1833–85, British soldier and administrator. He served in the Crimean War, went to China in the expedition of 1860, taking part in the capture of Beijing, and in 1863 took over the command of F. T. Ward Ward, Frederick Townsend, 1831–62, American adventurer, b. Salem, Mass. A soldier of fortune, he served with William Walker in Nicaragua and with the French forces in the Crimean War.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had raised a Chinese army to suppress the Taiping Rebellion Taiping Rebellion, 1850–64, revolt against the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty of China. Perhaps the most important event in 19th-century China, it was led by Hung Hsiu-ch'üan, a visionary from Guangdong who evolved a political creed influenced by elements of
..... Click the link for more information. . For the achievements of this Ever-Victorious Army he was popularly known as Chinese Gordon. In 1873 he entered the service of the khedive of Egypt, succeeding Sir Samuel Baker Baker, Sir Samuel White, 1821–93, English explorer in Africa. He explored the Nile tributaries in Ethiopia in 1861–62. Going up the Nile from Cairo, he reached Gondokoro in 1863.
..... Click the link for more information. as governor of Equatoria (S Sudan). Appointed governor of Sudan in 1877, he waged a vigorous campaign against slave traders. He resigned in 1879, but after various appointments in India, China, Mauritius, and Cape Colony (South Africa), he was sent back to Sudan, where Muhammad Ahmad (see under Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, 1844–85, a Muslim religious leader in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. He declared himself in 1881 to be the Mahdi and led a war of liberation from the oppressive Egyptian military occupation. He died soon after capturing Khartoum.
..... Click the link for more information. ) had acquired control. Although under orders to evacuate the Egyptian garrison from Khartoum, Gordon took it upon himself to attempt to defeat the Mahdi. He was cut off and besieged at Khartoum for 10 months. A relief expedition belatedly dispatched from England reached the garrison two days after it had been stormed by the Mahdists, who killed Gordon. Gordon's death stirred public indignation and contributed to the collapse of the Gladstone government in 1885.
(born Jan. 28, 1833, Woolwich, near London, Eng.—died Jan. 26, 1885, Khartoum, Sudan) British general. Gordon distinguished himself as a young officer in the Crimean War (1853–56) and subsequently volunteered for the second Opium War (1856–60). In 1862 he helped defend Shanghai during the Taiping Rebellion. These exploits earned him the epithet “Chinese” Gordon. In 1873 the Egyptian ruler Isma'il Pasha, who regularly employed Europeans, appointed Gordon governor of the province of Equatoria in southern Sudan (1874–76) and as governor-general of the Sudan (1874–80). In that post Gordon acted to crush rebellions and suppress the slave trade. He was again sent to the Sudan by Britain in 1884 to evacuate Anglo-Egyptian forces from Khartoum, which was threatened by Mahdist movement insurgents. After his arrival the city was besieged; it remained isolated for several months until it finally succumbed (Jan. 26, 1885). Gordon was killed in the action.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had raised a Chinese army to suppress the Taiping Rebellion Taiping Rebellion, 1850–64, revolt against the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty of China. Perhaps the most important event in 19th-century China, it was led by Hung Hsiu-ch'üan, a visionary from Guangdong who evolved a political creed influenced by elements of
..... Click the link for more information. . For the achievements of this Ever-Victorious Army he was popularly known as Chinese Gordon. In 1873 he entered the service of the khedive of Egypt, succeeding Sir Samuel Baker Baker, Sir Samuel White, 1821–93, English explorer in Africa. He explored the Nile tributaries in Ethiopia in 1861–62. Going up the Nile from Cairo, he reached Gondokoro in 1863.
..... Click the link for more information. as governor of Equatoria (S Sudan). Appointed governor of Sudan in 1877, he waged a vigorous campaign against slave traders. He resigned in 1879, but after various appointments in India, China, Mauritius, and Cape Colony (South Africa), he was sent back to Sudan, where Muhammad Ahmad (see under Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, 1844–85, a Muslim religious leader in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. He declared himself in 1881 to be the Mahdi and led a war of liberation from the oppressive Egyptian military occupation. He died soon after capturing Khartoum.
..... Click the link for more information. ) had acquired control. Although under orders to evacuate the Egyptian garrison from Khartoum, Gordon took it upon himself to attempt to defeat the Mahdi. He was cut off and besieged at Khartoum for 10 months. A relief expedition belatedly dispatched from England reached the garrison two days after it had been stormed by the Mahdists, who killed Gordon. Gordon's death stirred public indignation and contributed to the collapse of the Gladstone government in 1885.
Bibliography
See Gordon's journals at Khartoum (1885, repr. 1969); studies by P. Charrier (1965), A. Nutting (1966), J. Marlowe (1969), and C. Trench (1979).
Gordon, Charles George
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Charles George Gordon, portrait by Lady Julia Abercromby; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
(credit: Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London)
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