G O R 



Inlianlts j!i- boHom of Chi'ifliaiis bay, in Norway. 



GORDON, Bernard, in Bwgmphy, a French phyfi- 

 cian of the thirteenth century, is fald to liave conferred 

 honour on the medical faculty of MontpelHer, where he be- 

 gan to teach in the year I2^J. As was the cudom of the 

 time, he took his furnanie from tlie place of his birth, (Gor- 

 don in Roiivergne, ) and called hin.felf Beniardus de Gor- 

 donio, and not Gordoniis, as it is commonly written. Ac- 

 cording to the accounts of fome writers, who place the 

 death of this phylician in 1305, he tauglit at Montpellier 

 only twenty years ; but Renchin affirms, that he was living 

 in 1318 He left a confiderablj number of treatifes, which 

 were publilhed together at Ferrara in 14R7, at Venice in 

 1494, at Paris in IJ42, and at Lyons in 1550. Eloy. 

 Diet. Hift. 



GoHDON', Ml!., in the year 1744 played the firft violin in 

 Driiry-lane play-laiuie. He was a young man, born in Nor- 

 folk, who had travelled to Italy for improvement. He was 

 very nrar-fighted, and ahvays played in fpeftacles. He fuc- 

 cecded Charke, had a ilrong hand, good tone, and was well 

 fitted to his ilation. He generally played a concerto in the 

 fecond mufic, as was then the practice, which was very at- 

 tractive. He was brother to the fubjeft of the following 

 article. 



Gordon', , an eminent performer oti the vio- 

 loncello, the fon of a clergyman in Norfolk, and many yean 

 the firil violoncello at the opera. He uas remarkable for 

 the fuhiefs of his tone, and perfeft execution of whatever he 

 undertook, though far furpafled by fulifequent players in 

 the ufe of the bow, and knowledge of the finger-board. 

 He 'ived reputably, had many powerful friends, and iva- 

 lifed a competence by his profelTion. 



In 17(15, MefTrs. Gordon, Vincent, and Crawford, tnider- 

 took the opera regency in the Haymarket, The two tiril 

 were experienced profeffors, and the third had been many 

 years treafurer under different rnanagcrs. Gordon, an ex- 

 cellent performer on the violoncello ; and Vincent, a (cholar 

 of the celebrated Martini, long a favourite on the hnutbois. 

 His father was a baffoon player in the Guards, and his bro- 

 ther, James Vincent, who died young, was joint organifl of 

 tl.e Temple with Stanley, and a briillant performer. Mr. 

 T, Vincent, the imprefario, had been in great favour with 

 tiie late prince of AVnles, father to his prefent mnjefty ; had 

 acquired a confiderable fum of money in his profeffion, which 

 he augmented by marriage. However, the ambition c5t com- 

 mand, tfiough of fo froward a family as an opf-ra, vocal, and 

 inftrumcntal band, turned his head and his pnrle iniidc out ; 

 in fliort, he foon became a bankrupt, fculked in indigence 

 during the re'l of his hfe ; and his colleagues, tiiough they 

 .tfcaped utter ruin, were not enriched by the conneftion. 



Gordon', Alkx.vndkii, a learned writer of the eighteenth 

 century, was a native of Scotland. He was well acquaint- 

 ed with the Greek and Latin languages, and being a good 

 dranghtfnian, he was enabled to derive pecidiar advantages 

 from a long refidence in Italy, and from his travels in other 

 parts of Europe. He was engaged as fecretary to the fo- 

 ciety for the encouragement of learning ; and to the Egyp- 

 tian club, and to the Antiquarian fociety. He afterwards 

 accompanied governor Glen to Carolina, where he occupied 

 various po'fs in the province, and received a handlonie grant 

 of land. Here he died, leaving a good eilate to Kis family. 

 He was author of " Itinerarium Septentrionale,'" or a jour- 

 firy through moil parts of Scotland, illullrated with copper 

 pLtes. This was publiilied in 1726, and in 1732 he gave 

 additions and corrections to it, containing an account of 

 Rciran antiquities in Scotland, and ancient monuments in 

 the nortii cf England. He wiote llkewile " The Lives of 



3 



G O R 



Tope Ale-wider VI., and his Son Cjilar Lorgia." " A . 

 complete Hidory of ancient Amphitheatres, tranflat.-d from 

 the Italian." <■' AnEflay towards explaining the liierogly. 

 })hical Figures on the Coffin of a Mummy.'" " Twcntv-Hvc 

 Plates of all the Egyptian Mummies in England, and other 

 Egyptian Antiquities'" Gen. Biog. 



Gordon, Andrkw, was born in 171 2 near Aberdeen. 

 He was fcnt to Ratifbon, where he applied himfelf to polite 

 literature. In 1731 he made a tour throngli Aullria, Italy, 

 and France, and on his return in tiie following year entered 

 into the order of the Benedictines in the Scots monaftcry, 

 where he applied to philofophy, and wa.s ordained pricft. 

 In 1735, he went to Sal/.burg to iludy tlie law, and he at- 

 tended the theological ledlures till he was invited, in I 737, 

 to be profefTor of philofophy at Erfurt. His difcoverics Li 

 electricity made his name known to the pliilofophers in Hoi- 

 land, France, Italy, and England, and he is mentioned by Dr. 

 PriclUey as the iird perfon who ufed a cylinder infteaJ of a 

 globe in electric experiments. His firll' work on this fub- 

 jecf was entitled " Phenomena Elec'trititatis Expofita,'' 

 1744 ; and in the following year he publilhed in 3 vols. Kvo. 

 " Philofophia utilis et jucunda." He was author of an 

 " Impartial .'\ccount of the Origin of the prefent War in 

 Great Britain,'" and of " Phylic;c Experimentalis Elc- 

 menta.'" Gen Biog. 



Gordon, ,T.\me's, a Scotch .Jefuit, was born in the year 

 '543- He left his native country, and went to Rome, 

 where he entered the fociety of Jefus, in 1563. He became 

 diiUnguiflied for deep and extcnfive learning, and was fetit 

 on religious miffions irito Germany, Denmark, and the Bri- 

 tifli ides, where he is faid to have fufiered much on account 

 of his attachment to the Calhv,Iic faith. He died at Paris 

 in 1620, I'-iiving behind him a work in two volumes 8vo. en- 

 titled " Contfoverliarum Chridiana; Fidei Epitome." 



There v.as another Scotch Jefuit of the lame name, and 

 contemporary w iih the above, « Ivo w rote a commentary on 

 the wliolc bible, which he publilhed at Paris, in three to- 

 iumes folio, under the title of " Biblia facra, cum Commen- 

 tariis ad fenfum Litcrx, et explicatione Tcmporum, Loco- . 

 mm, Reruniqite omnium qu-.e in lacris Codicibus habrnt ob- 

 fcuritatem : una cum Tcxtu Biblico." This work is well 

 fpokcn of by Dupin. He was author likewifc of a work on 

 Chronology : and of " A Sydcm of moral Tlieologv, ' &c. 

 Moreri. 



Gordon, Tiio.mas, a native of Kirkcudbright, in Scot- 

 land, after having received an academical education in his 

 own country, came to London, and mi.intained himfelf bv 

 teaching the learned languages. His tidents were niade 

 known to people of confequencc, and he was employed by 

 the earl of Oxford in queen Anne's reign as a pohtical wri- 

 ter. He wrote in defence of bilhop I'.oadlev in the Ban- 

 gorian conlroverfy, and became the affillant and partner of 

 Mr. Trcnchard, in his literary undertakings. Thev pub- 

 lidied, hi conjundtion, a feries of papers, entitled '• Cato't 

 Letters;'' and the " Independent Whig," which Mr Gor- 

 don continued alone alter the death of Trenchard. When 

 this event took place, lir Robert W;Jpo!e engaged Gordon 

 as one of the writers in defence of his mcc.lures, and f ro- 

 cnrcd him a place, which he held as lor.g as he lived. Mr. 

 Gordon made himfelf known by trandations of Tacitus and 

 Sallud, as well as by his pohtical pieces. To tlicfe tranf- 

 lations lie prefixed difcourfes relative to iubjefts of each ori- 

 ginal author. He died in 1 750, at the age of fixiy-fix. 

 Some of his poillumious tracts appt-ared in two works, en- 

 titled " A CordiiJ for Low Spirits ;" and " The Pillars ot 

 Pricdcraft and Orthodoxy lliakcn.'' He was a didinguilTied 

 writer in fr.vcur of civil and rtligious libtriv, and is highly 



eiUxmcA 



