Gordon, Charles George

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Gordon, Charles George (1833–85). British soldier and Christian mystic. After serving with distinction in the Crimean War (1853–6), Gordon gained public acclaim by his exploits in China (1860–5) where he showed his great talents as a military engineer and as commander of irregular troops in the defence of Shanghai during the Taiping rebellion. Seconded to the service of the khedive of Egypt as governor of Equatoria (1873–6) and then as governor-general of the Sudan until 1880, Gordon mapped the upper reaches of the White Nile, successfully combated the slave trade which used the river, and established firm administrative control over the whole region. He returned to the Sudan in 1884 to evacuate Egyptian troops threatened by the forces of the Mahdi, a Muslim revivalist who had declared a holy war against the Egyptian government. A relief force failed to arrive in time and Gordon was killed in Khartoum in January 1885.

Kenneth Ingham

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