Alexander Hore Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie

Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright HoreRuthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO amp Bar, PC was a British soldier, governor of South Australia, then New South Wales before being appointed tenth GovernorGeneral of Australia. Serving foryears anddays, he is the longest serving GovernorGeneral in Australias history. Prior to his appointment in Australia he was a British Army officer who was the recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Alexander HoreRuthven was born onJuly 1872 in Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom, as the second son of Walter HoreRuthven, 1st Baron Ruthven of Gowrie , the 9th Lord Ruthven of Freeland, and Lady Caroline Annesley Gore , the daughter of Philip Gore, 4th Earl of Arran. After attending Winton House School in Winchester as a boarder from 1884 to 1885, HoreRuthven spent most of his early education at Eton College and then Haileybury and Imperial Service College, where he stayed until 1888, when he was withdrawn owing to eyesight problems and sent into business by his parents. He first worked in a tea merchants office in Glasgow and then traveled to India to work on a tea plantation in Assam. HoreRuthven, however, soon succumbed to malaria and he returned to England in 1892.

Source: Wikipedia