Alexander Theodore Gordon (11 May 1881 – 6 March 1919) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician. He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen and Kincardine Central in the 1918 General Election, but died two months later. He joined the

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

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

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

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; ...

, east of

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, 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 Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

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

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

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

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was head of the Forage Department of the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

in Scotland, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. 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 em ...

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 Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

aged 37, from heart failure after suffering from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, 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 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

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

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* 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 the Spanish flu pandemic in Scotland People from Insch {{Conservative-UK-MP-1880s-stub

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