Robert Jacob Gordon (explorer)

Robert Jacob Gordon
Robert Jacob Gordon (1780)
Born	29 September 1743 Doesburg, Gelderland
Died	25 October 1795 (1795-10-26) (aged 52) Cape Town, Cape Colony
Nationality	Dutch
Occupation	Explorer, Soldier, Artist, Naturalist, Linguist

Robert Jacob Gordon (29 September 1743 Doesburg, Gelderland – 25 October 1795 Cape Town), was a Dutch explorer, soldier, artist, naturalist and linguist of Scottish descent.

Robert Jacob Gordon was the son of Maj. General Jacob Gordon of the Scots Brigade (1572–1782) in the service of the Netherlands. Although of Scottish descent, Robert Gordon's allegiance and service lay with the Netherlands. He joined the Dutch Light Dragoons as a cadet in 1753 and enrolled at the University of Harderwijk in 1759. Here he studied in the humanities and soon proved to be of exceptional intelligence with diverse interests. He served at first with the Scots Brigade and later joined the Dutch East India Company, rising to the rank of colonel and commanding the Cape garrison between 1780 and 1795 and lived in the manor house known as Schoonder Sigt. He went on more expeditions than any other 18th-century explorer of southern Africa. Of the six journeys he undertook, only four between 1777 and 1786 are covered by journals discovered in 1964. He was responsible for naming the Orange River, introducing Merino sheep to the Cape Colony and for the discovery of the remains of Bartolomeu Dias's padrão at Kwaaihoek in 1786. In addition to French, Dutch and English, he spoke Hottentot and Xhosa.

During 1772/73 Robert visited the Cape Colony and met Carl Peter Thunberg and Francis Masson. They undertook a trip on foot exploring the mountains between Cape Town and False Bay.