Nathaniel Gordon (February 6, 1826 – February 21, 1862) was an American slave trader who was the only person in the United States to be tried, convicted, and executed by the federal government for having "engaged in the slave trade", which was deemed an act of piracy when committed by American citizens under the Piracy Law of 1820. As such, Gordon was also the last person to be executed for piracy in the United States.

Gordon was born in Portland, Maine. He went into shipping and eventually owned his own ship. He had a wife named Elizabeth and a two-year-old son named Nathaniel at the time of his final voyage to Africa.

When Gordon was 12, his father was arrested for attempting to smuggle slaves into the United States. The law stated that he should be deemed a pirate and given a mandatory death sentence. However, there are no records of how the case was resolved, albeit it is known that Gordon's father was not executed.

In 1848, Gordon's boat, Juliet, was searched by the U.S. Navy for evidence of slave trading. After no evidence of slave trading could be found, Gordon was released from their custody. However, there were allegations that Gordon had indeed gone to Africa, taken a cargo of slaves, and returned to Brazil, where slavery and the slave trade was still legal at the time.

In 1851, Gordon, captaining the Camargo, went on another expedition from Brazil to Africa. Gordon took on 500 Africans and set sail for Brazil. He had to take numerous measures to avoid naval patrol ships, but was still chased by a British man-of-war. After arriving in Brazil and dropping off the Africans, Gordon burned his ship to destroy evidence. The Africans were seized and some of his men were arrested and charged. Gordon himself escaped by dressing in women's clothes.

Shortly after the Camargo voyage, Gordon, captaining Ottawa, made a slaving voyage to Cuba, where slavery was also still legal, with a cargo of Africans. Only about 25 percent of the Africans survived, with Gordon later claiming that a rival trader had poisoned them. After landing in Cuba, Gordon again burned his ship afterwards to destroy evidence.

In late July 1860, Gordon set sail aboard the Erie for the west coast of Africa. On August 7, 1860, he loaded 897 slaves at Sharks Point, Congo River, West Africa, of whom only 172 were grown men and 162 grown women. Gordon preferred to carry children because they would not rise up to free themselves. The day after loading, Erie sailed from the Congo River, only to be captured by the USS Mohican within hours. Commander Sylvanus William Godon had a prize crew take command of Erie and ordered them to first transport the freed slaves to Liberia, and then return to New York. Liberia was the American colony established in West Africa by the American Colonization Society for the settlement of free blacks from the United States. According to reports, during the 15-day passage to Liberia at least 29 captives died and their bodies were thrown overboard. In New York, the ship was to be auctioned off, and Nathaniel Gordon, first mate William Warren, and second mate David Hall would stand trial.

Commander Godon had four other of Gordon's crewmen placed on the USS Marion: Thomas Nelson, Samuel Sleeper, Thomas Savage, and John McCafferty. Marion sailed to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where they were put on trial. In November 1860, the four crewmen were convicted of voluntarily serving on a slave ship but acquitted of engaging in the slave trade. They were each fined $1 and sentenced to 3.5 months in prison.