Osborne Gordon

Osborne Gordon (1813–1883) was an English cleric and academic, known as an influential tutor at Christ Church, Oxford.

He was born in Broseley, Shropshire, the son of George Osborne Gordon, a wine merchant, and his wife Elizabeth; his father died in 1822.

[3][4] Gordon was educated at Bridgnorth Grammar School, under Thomas Rowley, and was elected a Careswell exhibitioner to Christ Church, Oxford in 1832 and matriculated there.

At Christ Church he was a Senior Student, and served as proctor and censor; he also acted as a University Examiner.

Initially Liddell wintered in Madeira for his health, and, with the sub-dean Charles Carr Clerke, Gordon was involved as censor in college business.

He had also been at odds with his neighbour Arthur Hill, 4th Marquess of Downshire at Easthampstead Park, who had been rebuffed by Christ Church when he had offered to buy the advowson.

[18] In September 1863, Gordon travelled to France with John Ruskin, to examine a prospective house purchase at Bonneville, Haute-Savoie.

[22] After the death in 1874 of Arthur Hill, 5th Marquess of Downshire, Edward Burne-Jones was commissioned to design an east window of the church, on the Last Judgement, and it was made by Morris & Co.[23] In later life, Gordon was an examiner for the Indian Civil Service and Army.

[5] Algernon West, who matriculated at Christ Church in 1850 and was one of Gordon's pupils, noted that in 1881 he still combined incongruously an "overpowering" case of the proverbial remark "The Englishman dearly loves a lord " with h-dropping.

He left the bulk of his property to his brother Alexander John Gordon, who died intestate a month after him, falling in an accident from a carriage.