We are delighted to hear of a musical comedy running in the US this month about the outrageous Victorian conman, the so-called "Lord Gordon Gordon". This charlatan turned up in Minneapolis, in the summer of 1871, draping himself in tartan and claiming to be the heir of the (non-existent) "Earls of Gordon". He quickly became a social darling and mixed amongst the state's great and the good. Soon, he was being wined and dined at vast expense by General John Loomis, the Land Commissioner of the Northern Pacific Railroad, who believed this seemingly wealthy gentleman was in the market for the large expanses of land he was looking to sell. It was, of course, a lie, and "Gordon Gordon" vanished within the year. Perhaps the apogee of his disgraceful behaviour occurred when he almost started a war between the United States and Canada. The cad had pretended he held vast amounts of shares in the Erie Railroad Company, and made a deal with Jay Gould, then one of the richest men in America, that he would allow him to keep control of the company, provided he furnished him with half a million in shares and cash. Unfortunately for the scoundrel, Gould became suspicious when the "lord" began selling shares, and he halted the deal. "Gordon Gordon" fled once again to Canada, but this time he was tracked down by some of his victims. They attempted to bring him back to the US, but were arrested for kidnap themselves by the Canadian police, sparking off angry demands for a militia to be sent North of the border to bring back these American citizens. Only the intervention of the US President Ulysses S. Grant and the Canadian Prime Minister Sir John McDonald prevented things escalating more seriously. Eventually, "Gordon Gordon" was caught by police in Toronto, but, cunning to the end, managed to go out on his own terms - he told the officers he wished to retrieve his hat to warm himself in the cool winter air before bringing a gun to his temple and blowing his brains out! — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2G19iVv
