About Abel Gower
Lived 1836 – 1899 (aged 62–63). Abel Gower was a British diplomat.
Abel Anthony James Gower (1836 in Livorno, Italy – 1899?) was a British consul at two posts in Japan during the Bakumatsu period: Nagasaki and Hakodate. He was also an amateur photographer.
After experience in China, Gower worked in the British legation at Tōzen-ji, Edo (later Tokyo), as part of the staff of Rutherford Alcock. In 1863 he was involved in the bombardment of Kagoshima. In 1866 he became consul in Hakodate (in Ezo, later Hokkaidō); he had previously been consul in Nagasaki (in Kyūshū).
For many years it was believed that either Gower or Walter B. Woodbury was commissioned by the London firm Negretti and Zambra to photograph China and Japan between 1857 and 1860. It is now known that Pierre Rossier was the photographer in question. The Leiden University photograph collection includes a portrait of Gower, signed "P. Rossier", and in 1859 Rossier and Gower shared passage on from Nagasaki to Edo.
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Important facts
People in Abel Gower's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Abel Gower's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Abel Gower?
British diplomat
When was Abel Gower born?
Abel Gower was born in 1836.
When did Abel Gower die?
Abel Gower died in 1899.
What was Abel Gower's occupation?
Abel Gower was a diplomat.
What nationality was Abel Gower?
Abel Gower was British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Abel Gower. https://biography.guide/abel-gower/
MLA: "Abel Gower." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/abel-gower/.
Chicago: "Abel Gower." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/abel-gower/.
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