Robert Gordon

Robert Gordon (November 17, 1829 – May 16, 1918) was a Scottish-American merchant, banker, and art collector who served as the president of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York and was a co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870. Early life Gordon was born on November 17, 1829, in Dumfries, Scotland, where he was educated at the Dumfries Academy. He was the son of William Gordon and Sarah (née Walker) Gordon. Career In 1846, Gordon began his career in the office of Reid, Irving and Company in Liverpool. In 1849 he sailed to America to work for the firm Maitland, Phelps & Company in New York City. In 1853, he was admitted into the partnership of the firm and remained there until 1884 before returning to England with the intention of retiring. Once in London, the American banker Junius Spencer Morgan, head of J. S. Morgan & Co. in London, sought out Gordon and requested he join the bank. Gordon agreed and began working there on January 1, 1885. During his fifteen year career with the firm, he worked directly with Walter Hayes Burns, J. Pierpont Morgan, J.P. Morgan Jr., and Walter Spencer Morgan Burns. In 1895, profits were divided such that Pierpont and Burns each took 40% of the profits with Gordon the remaining 20%. He returned for the second time in April 1900, at which time Clinton Edward Dawkins, the former financial member of the Viceroy of India's Council, was admitted to the partnership.