John King Gordon (1900–1989) was a Canadian Christian minister, editor, United Nations official, and academic.

Biography

Gordon was born on 6 December 1900 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, the son of the novelist and future Presbyterian Church moderator Charles Gordon (known by the pen name "Ralph Connor") and his wife Helen King. One of his six sisters was the diplomat and educationalist

Marjorie Gordon Smart Marjorie Gordon became Mrs E.K. Smart AM (20 May 1911 – 23 May 1982) was a British, Canadian and Australian diplomat and a founding college principal in Australia. Life Smart was born in Winnipeg in 1911. Her father was known as the novelist R ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

in 1920. A

Rhodes scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, he studied at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

, from 1920 to 1921. Ordained in 1927, he was a

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

minister in Manitoba. From 1931 of

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system. It is a Virtue ethics, virtue ethic, which focuses on building moral character, and a Deontological ethics, deontological ethic which emphasizes duty according ...

at the United Theological College in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He was dismissed from the college in 1934 because of his

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

views. In 1935, he became a travelling professor of Christian ethics, working for the church's Board of Evangelism and Social Service. He became the secretary of the Fellowship for a Christian Social Order the same year. He was also involved with the

League for Social Reconstruction The League for Social Reconstruction (LSR) was a circle of Canadian socialists officially formed in 1932. The group advocated for social and economic reformation as well as political education. The formation of the LSR was provoked by events suc ...

. Gordon married Ruth Anderson in 1939. They had two children, the journalist Charles Gordon and the journalist and novelist Alison Gordon. In 1933, Gordon was one of the authors of the

Regina Manifesto The Regina Manifesto was the programme of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and was adopted at the first national convention of the CCF held in Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1933. The goal of the Regina Manifesto wa ...

and was involved in the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...

. From 1944 to 1947, he was managing editor of ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' magazine. From 1947 to 1950, he was the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

correspondent for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

(CBC). From 1950 to 1962, he was for the

United Nations Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the agenda for the deliberative and decision-making bodi ...

. He also served as president of the

United Nations Association in Canada The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) is a historic charitable organization focused on multilateralism in Canada. Established in 1946, UNA-Canada was a founding member of the World Federation of United Nations Association. Missio ...

circa 1975. From 1962 to 1967, he taught

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. He also taught at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

for six years. In 1977, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. He was the 1980 recipient of the

Pearson Medal of Peace The Pearson Medal of Peace is an award given out annually by the United Nations Association in Canada to recognize an individual Canadian's "contribution to international service". Nominations are made by any Canadian for any Canadian, excluding ...

for his work in

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

. He received honorary doctorates from the

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrolment of approximately 3,375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, ...

(1974),

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

(1977), the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

(1979),

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Fran ...

(1981), and the

(1981). He died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

on 24 February 1989 in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

Pearson Medal of Peace - J. King Gordon

J. King Gordon: ONUC - And What It Did for the Congo

J. King Gordon fonds (R2409)
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, J. King 1900 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Presbyterians Academics from Manitoba Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford Canadian Christian socialists Canadian officials of the United Nations Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian Presbyterians Canadian Rhodes Scholars Christian socialist theologians Co-operative Commonwealth Federation politicians Members of the Order of Canada Ministers of the United Church of Canada People from Winnipeg Presbyterian socialists Union Theological Seminary alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta University of Manitoba alumni

Biography

See also

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links