Alexander Theodore Gordon (11 May 1881 – 6 March 1919) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician. He was elected as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Aberdeen and Kincardine Central in the 1918 General Election, but died two months later. He joined the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

as second lieutenant on 30 June 1900, and served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

in 1900–01; taking part in the operations in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, east of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, from July to November 1900, and later in the

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...

. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 21 February 1902. The war ended in June 1902, and Gordon left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

on the SS ''Scot'' in September, returning home. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was head of the Forage Department of the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

in Scotland, with the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

. He was also an expert breeder of

Shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emp ...

Cattle. At the 1918 General Election, Gordon won the new constituency of Aberdeen and Kincardine Central by a majority of 638 votes over the Liberal candidate.''The Times'', 7 March 1919 He never spoke or voted in Parliament, but shortly before his death he was appointed a member of the House of Commons Scottish Standing Committee. Gordon died, at Newton Insch, Aberdeenshire aged 37, from heart failure after suffering from influenza, just over two months after his election. He thus became one of the shortest-serving MPs in history. It is likely that Gordon was a victim of the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. At the subsequent by-election Murdoch McKenzie Wood gained the seat for the Liberals.

References

External links

* 1881 births 1919 deaths Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Royal Army Service Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Deaths from Spanish flu People from Insch {{Conservative-UK-MP-1880s-stub

See also

References

External links