Ivor Thord-Gray
Ivor Thord-Gray (born Thord Ivar Hallström) (April 17, 1878 – August 18, 1964) was a Swedish-born adventurer, sailor, prison guard, soldier, government official, police officer, rubber plantation owner, ethnologist, linguist, investor, and author. He participated in thirteen wars spanning the continents of Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe.
Ivor Thord-Gray

CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Ivor Thord-Gray
- Birth Name
- Thord Ivar Hallström
- Born
- 17 April 1878
- Birthplace
- Södermalm, Stockholm, Kingdom of Sweden
- Died
- 18 August 1964
- Occupation
- * Sailor
- Spouse
- Josephine Toerge-Schaefer
- Nationality
- Sweden · United States
- Languages
- Spanish
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Ivor Thord-Gray. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6099541 · wikipedia · Ivor Thord-Gray
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ivor Thord-Gray • Birth Name — Thord Ivar Hallström • Born — 17 April 1878 • Birthplace — Södermalm, Stockholm, Kingdom of Sweden • Died — 18 August 1964 • Occupation — * Sailor • Soldier • Ethnologist • Linguist • Investor • Writer • Years Active — 1897–1935 • Notable Works — * Gringo Rebel • Från Mexicos forntid: bland tempelruiner och gudabilder (From Mexico's ancient times: among temple ruins and idols) • Tarahumara-English, English-Tarahumara dictionary and an introduction to Tarahumara grammar • Spouse — Josephine Toerge-Schaefer • Children — 2
Early life
Early life
Thord Ivar Hallström was born in the Södermalm district in central Stockholm, Kingdom of Sweden as the second son of a primary school teacher, August Hallström, and his wife Hilda. His eldest brother was the artist Gunnar August Hallström (1875–1943). His youngest brother was the archaeologist Gustaf Hallström (1880–1962).
South Africa
South Africa
• Joined Merchant Marine and sailed on three ships from 1893 to 1895 leaving later to settle in Cape Town, South Africa • Worked as a Prison Guard on Robben Island in 1896 • In 1897 he enlisted in the Cape Mounted Riflemen as a Private and fought in the Boer War in 1899–1902 • Served in the South African Constabulary 1902–1903 • Transvaal Colony Civil Service 1903–1906 • Captain in the Lydenburg Militia 1904 • Joined Royston's Horse as a Lieutenant and fought in the Bambatha Rebellion 1906 being promoted Captain.
Kenya
Kenya
• Captain of Nairobi Mounted Police 1907
Philippines
Philippines
• Captain Philippine Constabulary ("US Foreign Legion") 1908–1909
Malaya
Malaya
• Planter in Malaya 1909–1911.
China
China
• Served a short time in the 1911 Revolution.
Mexico
Mexico
• Joined Mexican Revolution as Captain and Commander of Pancho Villa's artillery 1913 • Promoted Major, Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel 1914 • Chief of Staff 1st Mexican Army 1914
Britain
Britain
• Joined British Army 1914, and served in the First World War. His initial rank was of Major and he was the second in command of 15th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers • Lieutenant-Colonel and Commanding officer of 11th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in 1915, and then 1/26th Battalion Royal Fusiliers in 1916 • Awarded 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, and Allied Victory Medal • Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force, which was deployed as part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in 1918.
Russia
Russia
• Transferred to Russian "White" Army February 1919 as Colonel • Commanding Officer of 1st Siberian Assault Division • Major General November 1919 and High Representative of the Provisional Siberian Government to the Allied Expeditionary Corps in Vladivostok
Back to Sweden
Back to Sweden
In 1923, Ivor Thord-Gray returned to Sweden and wrote a book about Mexican archeology Från Mexicos forntid: bland tempelruiner och gudabilder.
United States
United States
In 1925 Thord-Gray moved to the United States and established I.T. Gray & Co, an investment bank located at 522 Fifth Avenue in New York City. He became a citizen of the United States in 1934. He was married to Josephine Toerge-Schaefer (1925–1932) who had two children, Edward and Frances. He was subsequently married to Winnifred Ingersoll (1933–1960). In 1929, he established residence at Gray Court in Belle Haven in Greenwich, Connecticut. In August 1935 he was appointed Major-General and Chief-of-Staff to Governor David Sholtz of Florida. In 1955, he wrote Tarahumara-English, English-Tarahumara dictionary and an introduction to Tarahumara grammar. (Coral Gables, FL, University of Miami Press, 1955). He also wrote a book about his experiences in the Mexican Revolution, Gringo Rebel: Mexico 1913–1914 (Coral Gables, FL: University of Miami Press, 1961). In later years he had his winter home in Coral Gables, Florida.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Stockholm.
Birth place
Coral Gables.
Death place
Other sources
Other sources
• Bojerud, Stellan Ivor Thord-Gray - Soldat under 13 fanor (Sivart Förlag AB, Stockholm. 2008) • Gyllenhaal, Lars & Westberg, Lennart Swedes at War (Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2010), • Langer, Joakim Mannen som hittade Tarzan (Sivart Förlag AB, Stockholm, 2008). • Arrioja, Adolfo Vizcaíno El sueco que se fue con Pancho Villa (Editorial Océano de México, 2000) • Turner, Timothy G. Bullets, Bottles and Gardenias (Southwest Press 1937) • Tunis, Edwin Weapons: a pictorial history P61 (The Johns Hopkins University Press 1999)

uploaded from Portrattarkiv.se

Porträtt av Ivor Thord-Gray (Hallström) i amerikansk uniform
Okänd
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Ivor Thord-Gray, revision 1339055311 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ivor Thord-Gray (Great War Forum).
- 2.Gustaf Hallströms fotografisamling (Forskningsarkivet).
- 3.28986. 9973. 24 November 1914.
- 4.29488. 2090. 22 February 1916.
- 5.Library and Archives Canada.
- 6.Thord-Gray, Ivor. Från Mexicos forntid: bland tempelruiner och gudabilder. G. Tisells tekn. förl. 1923.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Ivo VojnovićAuthor
- Ivone SoaresAuthor
- Ivonne BordeloisAuthor
- Ivor CutlerAuthor
- Ivy AlvarezAuthor
- Ivy Compton-BurnettAuthor
- Ivy GibbsAuthor
- Ivy LeeAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Ivor Thord-Gray?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.