1833-1885. British general sent to Khartoum
in the Sudan 1884 to rescue English garrisons
that were under attack by the Mahdi, Muhammad
Ahmed; he was himself besieged for ten months
by the Mahdi's army. A relief expedition
arrived 28 Jan 1885 to find that Khartoum had
been captured and Gordon killed two days
before. Gordon served in the Crimean War and
in China 1864, where he earned his nickname
`Chinese' Gordon in ending the Taiping
Rebellion. In 1874 he was employed by the
Khedive of Egypt to open the country and
1877-80 was British governor of the Sudan.