Social

Studie
s
Lesson

Geor
ge W
Gord illiam
on

PRESENTATOR: Gro
up 5
A. Jackson
K. Bryan
M. Stone
K. Balfour
 Ta bl e of
Content
• Biography

• Early Life

• Contributions
to Jamaica
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• Honors
 g ra p hy
• Bio
George William Gordon was a Jamaican businessman and
politician. On the centenary of his death, he was proclaimed a
National Hero of Jamaica. Born to a white planter and a slave
in 1820, Gordon became a businessman and a landowner in the
parish of St Thomas-in-the-East
Died: October 23, 1865, Morant Bay
Nationality: Jamaican
Cause of death: Capital punishment
Place of Burial: National Heroes Park, Kingston
Parents: Joseph Gordon, Ann Rattray
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 r ly Lif e
Ea
•George William Gordon was the second of eight
children born in Jamaica to a Scottish planter, Joseph
Gordon (1790?–1867), and an enslaved woman, Ann
Rattray (1792? – before 1865). His siblings were Mary
Ann (1813?), Margaret (1819?), Janet Isabella (1824?),
John (1825?), Jane (1826?), Ann (1828?) and Ralph
Gordon (1830). Joseph Gordon had migrated to Jamaica
to serve as an attorney for a number of absentee-owned
sugar estates, and he later bought several properties
himself. Among them was Cherry Garden Estate, where
George William was born. Joseph Gordon later served as
a member of the House of Assembly and as Customs of
the parish of St Andrew. Gordon was self-educated,
teaching himself to read, write, and perform simple
accounting. He was born a slave. His father gave him his
freedom and at the age of ten, he was allowed to live with
his godfather, James Daly of Black River, Jamaica.
Within a year, Gordon began working in Daly's business.

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 ibu t io ns
• Contr a
a m a ic
to J
In 1843, age 23, he was elected to the House of
Assembly for St. Thomas. His public life began about
1844 when he entered politics as an advocate for the
poverty-stricken Negro peasants.
In 1865, the economic condition in Jamaica had gotten
worst. Gordon, was an advocate for the poor Negroes in
Jamaica. Gordon continuously urged the people to
protest and resist the oppressive and unjust conditions
under which they were forced to live. 5
Ho no rs

• On October 27, 1960, the Jamaican Parliament

named the building where the Parliament
Meetings would be kept in his honor. It was
named the George William Gordon House, often
just called, "Gordon House".

• After independence he was given the nation's

highest honor, The Order of  National Hero.
Therefore, today we refer to him as The Right
Excellent George William Gordon.

• George Gordon is now associated with the $10 coin. His

image is embedded in the coin which was first circulated in
March 1999 to replace the ever so popular $10 paper note.
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 N ati on a l
b ou t Ou r o n
F a c ts a li am G o r d
o r g e W i l
H e r o G e
• He was a friend of Paul Bogle.
As a member of the Native Baptist Movement, George William Gordon built churches
at his own expense, and ordained ministers and evangelists to serve as part of the
institution. He ordained Paul Bogle as a deacon to serve in the church, and the two men
formed a strong bond of friendship based on their similar religious and political beliefs.

• He was hanged for speaking out on behalf of poor Negroes.

Gordon’s advocacy for better treatment of poor Negroes earned him the disapproval of
privileged whites, including Governor Edward Eyre. After violence broke out at the
Morant Bay Court House in 1865 during a demonstration led by his friend Paul Bogle,
Gordon was arrested though there really was no evidence of his complicity, and despite
Bogle’s protestations that Gordon had nothing to do with the Morant Bay Rebellion. He
was taken by ship from Kingston to Morant Bay, tried and hanged on October 23
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 at i onal v ideo
oy t his educ
Enj

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 rd y gam e
je op a

• https://www.playfactile.com/wwwgroup5socialstudiesgroup

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 Social
Studie
s

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k Yo
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