| Biographical Notes | Pamphleteer, translator, and classical scholar. Famous for his translation of Tacitus. Gordon was born in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, at the end of the seventeenth century. After receiving university education in Scotland he went to London. He started his career as a teacher but later turned to writing. In 1720 Gordon co-founded a political journal, 'The Independent Whig'. He also wrote a series of letters for other periodicals under the name Cato (a pseudonym he shared with John Trenchard). After 1723 he published a new edition of 'The Independent Whig', in two volumes, as well as a highly influential collection of 'Cato’s Letters'. Gordon’s translation of Tacitus appeared in 1728 and was greatly appreciated (though not by Gibbon who described the style as 'pompous'). He later penned a translation of Sallust. See ODNB. |
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