Undated photocopies of writings on religious subjects, 41 pages. The title page records that 'these papers were written by Chinese Gordon and given by him to James Macalister, during a voyage from Port Elizabeth to Plymouth, on board the 'Kinfauns Castle', Oct. 13-Nov. 6. 1882'. The papers include an account of Gordon's theory that the Seychelles were the site of the Garden of Eden, illustrated with sketches and accompanied by four page of drawings. There are also five pages of photocopies of letters from General Gordon, 10 November 1882 (Southampton), 28 January 1883 and 13 March 1883 (Jerusalem).
Religious writings of Charles Gordon
This material is held atRoyal Commonwealth Society Library
- Reference
- GB 115 RCS/RCMS 16
- Dates of Creation
- 1960-1999
- Name of Creator
- Language of Material
- English .
- Physical Description
- .003 cubic metre(s) 1 envelope paper
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
Charles George Gordon (1833-1885) was born in Woolwich on 28 January 1833. He entered the Royal Engineers in 1852, and was promoted after serving in the Chinese War, 1860-1862. He commanded the Chinese forces against the Taipings, 1863-1864, and was Governor of the equatorial provinces of Africa, 1874-1876. Gordon was made Governor-General of the Soudan in 1877, and was the commanding Royal Engineer in Mauritius, 1881-1882. He was made a Major-General in 1882, and became Governor-General of the Soudan in 1884, with responsibility for the evacuation of the country. He was killed by the Mahdi at the siege of Khartoum.
Access Information
Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
Acquisition Information
The provenance of the collection is unknown.
Note
Includes index.
Other Finding Aids
Location of Originals
The location of the original papers is not known.
Additional Information
This collection level description was created by RAS using information from the original typescript catalogue. The biographical history was compiled with reference to the entry on General Gordon in Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee, eds, 'Dictionary of national biography', vol. VIII (London, 1908), pp. 169-176.
Gordon, Charles George, 1833-1885, Major General