Lord Gordon-Gordon, also known as Lord Gordon Gordon, Lord Glencairn and The Hon. Mr. Herbert Hamilton (c1840–1874) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 fraud

Fraud

In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...

 and impostor

Impostor

An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....

, responsible for one of the greatest swindles in the 19th century United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He swindled $1 million from Jay Gould

Jay Gould

Jason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...

, who was fighting for control of the Erie Railroad

Erie Railroad

The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...

, and then fled to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. A failed kidnapping

Kidnapping

In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

 attempt by Gould and associates ended in their arrest and almost caused a military confrontation between the United States and Canada.

Life in Britain

Little is known about the early life of Lord Gordon-Gordon. His real name is unknown, and it was rumoured that he was the illegitimate son of a North Country

Northern England

Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...

 clergyman and his family maid.

The first major incident involving Gordon-Gordon was in 1868, when under the name of "Lord Glencairn", he swindled London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 jewellers Marshall & Son for £25,000. In March 1870, he left Britain and travelled to the United States.

Career in North America

Glencairn took the name "Lord Gordon-Gordon" as his alias, claiming to be a cousin of the Campbells

Clan Campbell

Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...

, a descendant of Lochinvar

Lochinvar

Lochinvar is a loch in Scotland that is now a reservoir. It nestles in the hills of Dumfries and Galloway to the north-east of St. John's Town of Dalry. It is drained by the Lochinvar Burn, which flows south to the Water of Ken. The ruins of a castle stand on a now submerged islet within the loch...

 and of the ancient kings of the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

. He arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

, and became involved with the Northern Pacific Railway

Northern Pacific Railway

The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...

. He told them that he was in America so that he could buy large tracts of land, upon which he could settle tenants from his overpopulated estates in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

Gordon-Gordon's next major incident came three months later, when he moved to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, claiming he was going to transfer his funds from Scotland in order to finance his purchase. With him, he carried a letter of introduction from Gould, who was then trying to gain control of the Erie Railroad in the Erie War

Erie War

The Erie War was a 19th century conflict between American financiers for control of the Erie Railroad, which operated in several American states and connected New York to Chicago....

. Gordon-Gordon told Gould that with the help of several Europeans who had stock in the company, he could help Gould gain control of the railroad. Gould agreed to help him, on the condition that he gave Gordon-Gordon $1 million in negotiable stock in what he called, "a pooling of interests": i.e. a bribe. However, as soon as Gordon-Gordon had taken the stock he put it on the market, swindling Gould.

Gould sued Gordon-Gordon, with Gordon-Gordon put on trial in March 1873. Gordon-Gordon gave the names of his European personages in court, whom he claimed to represent, and was granted bail while the references were checked. Gordon-Gordon took this opportunity to flee to Canada, where he convinced authorities that the allegations brought against him were false. Gordon-Gordon then offered to buy large parts of Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

; an investment which would bring prosperity to Canada.

After failing to convince or force Canadian authorities to hand over Gordon-Gordon, Gould and his associates, who included two future Governors of Minnesota

Governor of Minnesota

The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...

 and three future Members of Congress, attempted to kidnap him. The group was successful, but were stopped and arrested by the North-West Mounted Police before they could return to the United States. The kidnappers were put in prison and refused bail. This led to an international incident between the United States and Canada. Upon learning that the kidnappers were not given bail, Governor Horace Austin

Horace Austin

Horace Austin was an American politician. He served as the sixth Governor of Minnesota from January 9, 1870 to January 7, 1874. He was a Republican....

 of Minnesota demanded their return and put the local militia on a state of full readiness. Thousands of Minnesotans volunteered for a full military invasion of Canada. However, after negotiations, the Canadian authorities released the kidnappers on bail.

Gordon-Gordon believed himself safe, as at that time, grand larceny

Grand Larceny

Grand Larceny is a 1987 thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Marilu Henner, Ian McShane, Omar Sharif and Louis Jourdan.-Plot summary:...

 and embezzlement

Embezzlement

Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....

 were not crimes serious enough to warrant extradition

Extradition

Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...

. However, the news surrounding Gordon-Gordon reached Europe. The firm Marshall & Son; the jewellers Gordon-Gordon had robbed some years ago, sent a representative to Canada, who identified Gordon-Gordon as Lord Glencairn. Gordon-Gordon claimed that it was a smear campaign created by Gould and his associates, but the Canadian authorities considered the charges serious enough to sentence him to deportation

Deportation

Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...

. Before his deportation, Gordon-Gordon held a farewell party in his hotel room, where he gave expensive presents to his guests. After the party, he committed suicide by shooting himself on August 1, 1874.