Biography
Mackenzie was educated mainly in Aberdeen, at the Aberdeen Grammar School and the Marischal College, University of Aberdeen; but he studied in Rouen, France, and Stettin, Prussia, from 1853 to 1855. He was commissioned into the 60th Foot as an ensign in 1856 when he was nineteen years old. Soon after, his regiment was sent to the Cape of Good Hope, and from there to India. He traveled to England in 1858, having been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. In 1861 he sold his commission and retired from the army. Mackenzie began to practice chess in 1853, and in 1862 he won a handicap tournament in London in which he defeated Adolf Anderssen.
In 1863, during the middle of the American Civil War, he moved to the United States. During the Civil War, he fought on the Union side, obtaining the rank of Captain in the 10th United States Colored Troops Regiment. However, on June 16, 1864, he was reported as a deserter by the United States Army. In 1865, Mackenzie came to New York, where he wrote on chess matters for Turf, Field, and Farm. He won the first prizes at the annual contests of the New York Chess Club in 1865, 1866, 1867, and 1868.
Read more about this topic: George Henry Mackenzie
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