Charles George Gordon
1833 – 1885 British Army officer, colonial administrator
British general killed at the fall of Khartoum in 1885, turned into an imperial martyr.
- Religion
- Evangelical Christian
- Affiliations
- British Army
Charles George Gordon was a British army officer who won fame commanding forces in China and later governing Sudan for Egypt. Sent back to Khartoum in 1884 to evacuate Egyptian forces as the Mahdist revolt spread, he instead held the city under siege. Khartoum fell in January 1885 and Gordon was killed two days before a relief force arrived, a delay blamed on Gladstone's government. His death was cast in Britain as a heroic martyrdom and helped drive the later reconquest of Sudan.
Connections
- successor of Lord Kitchener — Avenged his death by reconquering Sudan.
- successor of Lord Kitchener — The commander who avenged him at Omdurman.
- rival of William Ewart Gladstone — The general whose death at Khartoum was laid at his door.
- rival of William Ewart Gladstone — The prime minister blamed for failing to relieve him in time.
In the timeline
- 1881 – 1899 Mahdist War the general killed early in the war
- 1885 Fall of Khartoum the besieged commander
- 1885 Fall of Khartoum and the death of Gordon the general killed at the fall of the city