Sir

Alexander Hamilton-Gordon
Born(1817-12-11)11 December 1817
Died18 May 1890(1890-05-18) (aged 72)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
RankGeneral
Commands heldEastern District
Battles/warsCrimean War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath

General Sir Alexander Hamilton-Gordon, KCB (11 December 1817 – 18 May 1890) was a Scottish soldier and Liberal Party politician.

Military career

Hamilton-Gordon was the second son of Prime Minister George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, by his second marriage to Harriet, daughter of the Hon. John Douglas.[1] Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore, was his younger brother.[1] He served in the British Army and saw action at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854 during the Crimean War.[2] He went on to be General Officer Commanding Eastern District in January 1872.[3]

Apart from his military career, Hamilton-Gordon was also an Honorary Equerry to Queen Victoria and sat as Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire East from 1875 to 1885.[4] He was at first a Conservative until he defected to become a Liberal in 1879.[5]

Hamilton-Gordon married Caroline Emilia Mary, daughter of Margaret and Sir John Herschel, 1st Baronet and grand daughter of astronomer William Herschel, in 1852. They had five sons and four daughters. His eldest son Alexander also became a successful soldier. Hamilton-Gordon died in May 1890, aged 72. Lady Hamilton-Gordon survived him by 19 years and died in January 1909.[6]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen". Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. ^ Grehan, John; Mace, Martin (2014). British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854–1856: Despatches from the Front. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1781593301.
  3. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Sir Alexander Gordon". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Sir A Gordon and the East Aberdeenshire Liberals". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 14 July 1879. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Caroline Emilia Mary Herschel". The Peerage.com. Retrieved 24 November 2015.

References

External links

Military offices Preceded byFreeman Murray GOC Eastern District January 1872 – April 1872 Succeeded bySir Edward Greathed Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byWilliam Dingwall Fordyce Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire East 1875 – 1885 Succeeded byPeter Esslemont
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