Poet. He was a 19th-century Australian poet who was very popular with Queen Victoria. He is the only Australian poet commemorated in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. Born in Portugal as the only son of a British military officer of Scottish heritage, Captain Adam Durnford Gordon and Harriet Gordon, he was educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, but was a poor student and often in trouble being expelled from school. To have a fresh start, he was sent from England to Australia on August 17, 1853, where he became interested in horses and a respected steeplechase rider. For two years, he served in the South Australian mounted police. By 1859 both his parents had died and he inherited £7000 by the end of 1861. On October 20, 1862 he married Margaret Park, a seventeen-year-old girl from South Australia. His literary career began with him writing verse for Victoria's newspapers. Becoming political in 1865, he served for a year and a half in the South Australian House of Assembly before resigning. In 1867 he published two volumes of poetry, "Sea Spray and Smoke Drift" and "Ashtaroth". Although he had no business experience, he attempted to manage a hotel's livery stable but the business failed, leaving him in near financial ruins. For an income, he began to ride horses for money and at first, made money. Once, he won three races in one day. In March of 1868, he suffered a serious injury while riding a horse and his daughter Annie Lindsy, born on May 3, 1867, died at the age of 11 months, before his wife left him in 1869. After his financial situation improved, he reunited with his wife. He fell in deep depression suffering from chronic pain from the accident and after the loss of his family's estate in Scotland. He had another serious riding accident on March 12, 1870. With the second accident, he suffered a serious head injury and never fully recovered. On June 3, 1870, he published his third book of poetry "Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhyme," which received excellent reviews from the critics. When he realized that he did not have the money to pay the printer for the book, he used his Brighton Artillery Corps issued service rifle to shoot himself. He was not known to drink alcohol and according to several, was sober the day he died. Friends marked his grave, which he shares with his daughter, and his penniless widow returned to South Australia, married again, and lived until November of 1919. In 1932 a statue of him sitting in a chair by sculptor Paul Montfort was erected near parliament house in Melbourne. In May of 1934 his bust was placed in Westminister Abbey in London. The silent film "The Life's Romance of Adam Lindsay Gordon" in 1916 is an Australian feature-length film documenting his life and part of the film is still available in the 21st century. His home has been established as the Adam Lindsay Gordon Memorial Cottage at the Ballarat Botanic Gardens.