Gordon Loeo George

Gordon, Loeo George, third son of the Duke of Gordon, was born in London in 1751. He left Eton to enter the navy, but soon resigned his commission and was returned to Parliament for Luggershall in 1774. A fluent speaker and a man of eccentric but honest views, he attached himself to no party, until his violent opposition to the removal of Roman Catholic disabilities placed him, in 1780, at the head of the turbulent Anti-Papal leagues. In this capacity he led a mob to Westminster for the purpose of presenting a monster petition against the Toleration Act, and the riots ensued with which his name is associated. Many Catholic chapels, private houses, and prisons were broken into and set on fire, the Bank of England was attacked, and 450 lives were lost before quiet could be restored. He was arrested and brought to trial, but escaped conviction owing to the skilful management of his defence by Erskine. In 1787 he was convicted of libels against the Queen of France and other persons, but he fled to Holland. Returning in 1788, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and died in Newgate a few months after the expiration of that period, as he refused to give securities for good behaviour on his release. Before his death he embraced Judaism.