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John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
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The English statesman John Russell, 1st Earl Russell of Kingston Russell (1792-1878), was the author of the Great Reform Bill of 1832 and one of the founders of the British Liberal party.
John Russell was born on Aug. 18, 1792, in London. He was the third son of the 6th Duke of Bedford. Russell was educated primarily by private tutors and at Edinburgh University.
Russell's parliamentary career began in 1813, when he was elected Whig member of Parliament for Tavistock. In poor health during his early parliamentary career, Russell rarely spoke in the Commons. His vanity was great, and he was easily disturbed by criticism. But he was a man of courage and conviction. In the 1820s he emerged as a champion of parliamentary reform and religious toleration. He worked for repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts and supported Catholic emancipation in 1829.
Russell was largely responsible for preparing the first Reform Bill and introduced it in the Commons in March 1831; the bill passed the Lords in June 1832. Russell was a member of the Whig Cabinets of Lords Grey and Melbourne in the 1830s, first as home secretary and then as secretary for war and the colonies (1839-1841). The Municipal Corporation Act of 1835, which expanded the electorate for town councils, was one of his contributions.
After the fall of Sir Robert Peel's second ministry in 1846 Russell became prime minister. He held this office for the next 6 years (1846-1852). During this period he faced the Great Famine in Ireland, but his relief measures were too cautious to succeed. The Ten Hours Act of 1847 was a turning point in the history of labor legislation. Russell sympathized with the popular outcry against the papal bull that restored a Roman Catholic hierarchy in England in 1850, and he sponsored the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill (1851), which forbade the assumption by Roman Catholic clergy of titles within the United Kingdom. A more liberal attitude characterized his actions in imperial affairs. The Australian Colonies Act of 1850 extended self-government to New South Wales.
Lord Palmerston was the most controversial figure in the Russell Cabinet, and relations between the two were frequently strained. Palmerston was dismissed by Russell in December 1851 for having conveyed to the French ambassador Russell's approval of Louis Napoleon's coup d'etat. Two months later, however, Palmerston had his revenge when he successfully led the opposition in defeating the government's Militia Bill, and Russell resigned in 1852.
Russell served as foreign secretary for a few months in 1852-1853 in Lord Aberdeen's coalition and as colonial secretary for 5 months in Palmerston's Cabinet in 1855. He returned to the Foreign Office 4 years later in the second Palmerston ministry (1859-1865) and did much to preserve British neutrality during the American Civil War. Russell became prime minister for a second time in 1865, but he resigned the following year in a dispute over the specifics of a second Reform Bill. He then retired to a private life of writing, and he died on May 28, 1878.
Russell was known as "Finality Jack" to the British working classes, as one who opposed all further reform after 1832. This, however, was not true. He was active in the reform movement to the end of his life, and he helped to move the Whigs toward the new Liberal party under his immediate successor as party leader, William Gladstone.
Further Reading
The standard biography of Russell is Spencer Walpole, Life of xLord John Russell (2 vols., 1889; repr. 1968). A more recent, concise study is A. Wyatt Tilby, Lord John Russell: A Study in Civil and Religious Liberty (1930). Norman Gash, Politics in the Age of Peel (1953), is a penetrating study of the machinery of politics during the period of Russell's activities.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: John Russell, 1st Earl Russell |
Russell, John Russell, 1st Earl, 1792-1878, British statesman; younger son of the 6th duke of Bedford, known most of his life as Lord John Russell. He became a Whig member of Parliament in 1813 and soon began his long career as a liberal reformer. He worked for Catholic Emancipation, leading the attack on the Test and Corporation acts, which were repealed in 1828. As paymaster general in the ministry of the 2d Earl Grey, Russell helped prepare and introduce the Reform Bill of 1832 (see under Reform Acts). His advocacy of the reduction of Irish church revenues helped bring down the Whig government in 1834, but when the Whigs returned to power (1835), Russell became home secretary and later secretary for war and the colonies (1839). In the meantime he had given the name to the newly emerging Liberal party and become one of its chief spokesmen. Russell led the opposition during the second ministry (1841-46) of Sir Robert Peel and, following the repeal of the corn laws (which Russell supported), succeeded him as prime minister. During his ministry Russell used public works, grants, and other relief to help the Irish during the potato famine and supported the bill (1847) that limited the working day to 10 hr for many laborers. In 1851 he demanded the resignation of his foreign secretary, Viscount Palmerston, for his unauthorized approval of Napoleon III's coup in France, and the following year Palmerston helped secure the fall of Russell's ministry. Russell served (1852-55) in Lord Aberdeen's coalition government and represented (1855) England at Vienna in an unsuccessful conference to end the Crimean War. He was reconciled with Palmerston and, as his foreign secretary (1859-65), vigorously advocated neutrality in the American Civil War and supported the Risorgimento in Italy. He had been made an earl in 1861 and became prime minister again on Palmerston's death in 1865. For many years an advocate of further parliamentary reform, he attempted to push through a new Reform Bill, but the bill was defeated and caused the fall of his ministry in 1866. Among Russell's literary and historical writings are a translation of Schiller's Don Carlos and biographies of Lord William Russell (1819) and of Charles James Fox (3 vol., 1853-57).
Bibliography
See his Recollections and Suggestions, 1813-1873 (1875); early correspondence (ed. by R. Russell; 2 vol., 1913) and later correspondence (ed. by G. P. Gooch; 2 vol., 1925); biographies by S. Walpole (2 vol., 1889, repr. 1968) and J. Prest (1972); W. P. Morrell, British Colonial Policy in the Age of Peel and Russell (1930, repr. 1966).
| Quotes By: John Russell |
Quotes:
"A proverb is one man's wit and all men's wisdom."
| Artist: Johnny Russell |
See Johnny Russell Lyrics
- Born: January 23, 1940, Moorehead, MS
- Died: July 03, 2001, Nashville, TN
- Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
- Genres: Country
- Instrument: Vocals, Songwriter
- Representative Albums: "Rednecks, White Socks & Blue Ribbon Beer," "Here Comes Johnny Russell," "She's in Love with a Rodeo Man"
- Representative Songs: "Rednecks, White Socks and Blu," "Act Naturally," "Today I Started Loving You Ag"
Biography
Active as a performer and recording artist in the 1970s and 1980s, Johnny Russell was remembered for "Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer," perhaps country music's quintessential blue-collar anthem. He had several other moderate hits, but his greatest legacy was as a successful country songwriter whose compositions were recorded by artists ranging in time from Jim Reeves to George Strait. Russell was born and raised in the Mississippi Delta's Sunflower County. He heard the Grand Ole Opry as a youngster and was influenced by the music of Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, and Roy Acuff. His family moved to Fresno, CA, when Russell was 11, and he began to dream of a performing career. As a high school student he took steps to realize his dreams -- he entered and won various talent contests, and he began writing songs. Soon after turning 18 he recorded his first song, "In a Mansion Stands My Love," in 1958. The single had little impact, but it caught the attention of RCA producer and A&R czar Chet Atkins. Atkins suggested to Jim Reeves that he record the song, and it became the B-side of Reeves' monster 1960 hit "He'll Have to Go." That helped establish Russell's reputation as a songwriter, although his recording career on the ABC label went nowhere. Russell's next major triumph came in 1963, when Buck Owens recorded Russell's "Act Naturally" (co-written with Voni Morrison of Owens' backing band) and had a number one hit. Two years later, the Beatles covered the tune with country enthusiast Ringo Starr on vocals. The song had its genesis when Russell broke a date with a girlfriend when he was offered a recording session in Hollywood. "They're gonna put me in the movies," Russell explained apologetically to the girlfriend -- and then wrote "Act Naturally" in a few minutes. Russell landed a staff songwriter position at the Wilburn Brothers' publishing house in Nashville, penning several hits in the late '60s and early '70s. These included the Wilburn Brothers' own "Hurt Her Once for Me." In 1971, Russell renewed his effort to become a recording star in his own right, and Atkins signed him to RCA. His debut single, "Mr. and Mrs. Untrue," and its follow-up, "What a Price," both became mid-level hits. Russell had his first Top 20 hit in 1973 with "Catfish John," and later that year "Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer" peaked in the Top Five and became his biggest hit. He had six more hits through 1975, including "Hello I Love You." In 1977, he finished his stint at RCA with six more mid-range hits, including "The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp." He then switched to Mercury and had a Top 30 hit with "How Deep in Love Am I?" He had several more hits with label, including "Here's to the Horses," but none of them made it past the Top 50. He continued to find success as a songwriter, however, teaming once again with Morrison for the Porter Wagoner/Dolly Parton duet "Making Plans." Russsell adapted his honky tonk themes to the MOR sound that flourished around 1980. With Wayland Holyfield he co-wrote the major Statler Brothers hit "You'll Be Back Every Night (In My Dreams)," and he wrote or had a hand in such familiar numbers of that era as Gene Watson's "Got No Reason Now (For Going Home)" and the young George Strait's "Let's Fall to Pieces Together." In the mid-'80s, Russell joined the Grand Ole Opry as a comedy and vocal act, and in his later years he was a familiar sight in live appearances and on television, his 300-pound girth contained by colorful suspenders. Russell teamed up with Little David Wilkins in 1987 to record the minor hit "Butterbeans." Before the year was out, Russell had a mild stroke, and the following year he underwent surgery to remove a blockage from his chest. Still, he continued to perform and tour as before, serving as MC when Garth Brooks joined the Opry in 1990. As his health problems worsened in 2001, younger performers he had mentored, including Brooks and Vince Gill, gathered for a benefit concert at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. His untimely death at the age of 61 was due to complications surrounding diabetes. ~ James Manheim, All Music Guide| Discography: Johnny Russell |
| Actor: John Lowell Russell |
- Born: Apr 22, 1875 in Pleasant Valley, Iowa
- Died: Sep 19, 1937 in Los Angeles, California
- Occupation: Actor
- Active: '20s
- Major Genres: Western, Action
- Career Highlights: Arizona Days
- First Major Screen Credit: Arizona Days (1928)
Biography
A completely forgotten silent Western hero, John Lowell Russell starred in 11 Northwest Mounted Police melodramas filmed in the Adirondacks in 1919 by New York's Blazed Trail Prod. Dakota Lawrence co-starred and the screenplays were all written by Russell's wife, Lillian Case Russell. The couple also collaborated on a 1921 version of the old barnstormer Ten Nights in a Barroom and The Big Show (1925), a bizarre mix of animation and live action produced at the famous Miller Bros. 101 Ranch in Oklahoma. Russell seems to have retired prior to the advent of sound. Russell's daughter, actress Evangeline Russell (1902-1966), became the second wife of film pioneer J. Stuart Blackton. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide| Wikipedia: John Russell, 1st Earl Russell |
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008) |
Lord John Russell links here, which might also refer to John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
For other persons named John Russell, see John Russell (disambiguation).
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| In office 29 October 1865 – 28 June 1866 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Palmerston |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Derby |
| In office 30 June 1846 – 23 February 1852 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Sir Robert Peel, Bt |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Derby |
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| Born | 18 August 1792 London, England |
| Died | 28 May 1878 (age 85) |
| Political party | Whig and Liberal |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Religion | Church of England |
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century.
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Background and education
Russell was born into the highest echelons of the British aristocracy. The Russell family had been one of the principal Whig dynasties in England since the 17th century, and were among the richest handful of aristocratic landowning families in the country, but as a younger son of the 6th Duke of Bedford he was not in line to inherit the family estates.
He was educated at Westminster School and the University of Edinburgh, which he attended for three years but did not take a degree.[1] He is one of only five university-educated British Prime Ministers to have not attended Oxford or Cambridge (the others being the Earl of Bute, Andrew Bonar Law, Neville Chamberlain and Gordon Brown.)
Politics
Russell entered parliament as a Whig in 1813. In 1819, Russell embraced the cause of parliamentary reform, and led the more reformist wing of the Whigs throughout the 1820s. When the Whigs came to power in 1830 in Earl Grey's government, Russell entered the government as Paymaster of the Forces, and was soon elevated to the Cabinet. He was one of the principal leaders of the fight for the Reform Act 1832, earning the nickname Finality Jack from his complacency pronouncing the Act a final measure. In 1834, when the leader of the Commons, Lord Althorp, succeeded to the peerage as Earl Spencer, Russell became the leader of the Whigs in the Commons, a position he maintained for the rest of the decade, until the Whigs fell from power in 1841. In this position, Russell continued to lead the more reformist wing of the Whig party, calling, in particular, for religious freedom, and, as Home Secretary in the late 1830s, played a large role in democratizing the government of British cities (other than London).
In 1845, as leader of the Opposition, Russell came out in favour of repeal of the Corn Laws, forcing Conservative Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel to follow him. When the Conservatives split the next year over this issue, the Whigs returned to power and Russell became Prime Minister. Russell's premiership was frustrating, and, due to party disunity and his own ineffectual leadership, he was unable to get many of the measures he was interested in passed.
Russell's first government coincided with the Great Irish Famine of the late 1840s. Russell's government also saw conflict with his headstrong Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, whose belligerence and support for continental revolution he found embarrassing. When, without royal approval, Palmerston recognized Napoleon III's coup of 2 December 1851, Palmerston was forced to resign, and the ministry soon collapsed.
After a short-lived minority Conservative government under the Earl of Derby, Russell brought the Whigs into a new coalition government with the Peelite Conservatives, headed by the Peelite Lord Aberdeen. Russell served again as Leader of the House of Commons, and together with Palmerston was instrumental in getting Britain involved in the Crimean War, against the wishes of the cautious, Russophile Aberdeen. Incompetence in the early stages of the war, however, led to the collapse of the government, and Palmerston formed a new government. Although Russell was initially included, he did not get on well with his former subordinate, and temporarily retired from politics in 1855, focusing on writing.
In 1859, following another short-lived Conservative government, Palmerston and Russell made up their differences, and Russell consented to serve as Foreign Secretary in a new Palmerston cabinet - usually considered the first true Liberal Cabinet. This period was a particularly eventful one in the world outside Britain, seeing the Unification of Italy, the American Civil War, and the 1864 war over Schleswig-Holstein between Denmark and the German states. Russell's handling of these crises was not particularly noteworthy, and he was always overshadowed by his more eminent chief. In particular, his attempts to attain British mediation in the American war, which were shot down by the cautious Palmerston, did not improve his position. Russell was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Amberley, of Amberley in the County of Gloucester and of Ardsalla in the County of Meath, and Earl Russell, of Kingston Russell in the County of Dorset, in 1861.
When Palmerston suddenly died in late 1865, Russell again became Prime Minister. His second premiership was short and frustrating, and Russell failed in his great ambition of expanding the franchise - a task that would be left to his Conservative successors, Derby and Benjamin Disraeli. In 1866, party disunity again brought down his government, and Russell went into permanent retirement.
Legacy
He was succeeded as Liberal leader by former Peelite William Ewart Gladstone, and was thus the last true Whig to serve as Prime Minister. He may have served as Anthony Trollope's model for the character of Plantagenet Palliser. An ideal statesman, said Trollope, should have "unblemished, unextinguishable, inexhaustible love of country...But he should also be scrupulous, and, as being scrupulous, weak."[2]
Among Russell's descendants is the renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell, his grandson.
The 1832 Reform Act and the democratisation of the government of British cities are partly attributed to his efforts.
He also worked for Catholic emancipation, leading the attack on the Test and Corporation acts, which were repealed in 1828, as well as towards legislation limiting working hours in factories in the 1847 Factory Act, and the Public Health Act of 1848.
His government's approach to dealing with the Irish Potato Famine is now widely condemned as counterproductive, ill-informed and disastrous; however, it has been argued that Russell himself (a "Foxite" populist) was sympathetic to the plight of the Irish poor, and that many of his relief proposals were blocked by his cabinet and the British Parliament.
Russell's governments
- First Russell ministry (July 1846–February 1852)
- Second Russell ministry (October 1865–June 1866)
Literature
In 1819 Lord John Russell published his book "Life of Lord Russell" about his famous ancestor. Between 1853 and 1856, he edited the Memoirs, Journal and Correspondence of Thomas Moore, which was published by Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans over 8 volumes. [3] [4]
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was dedicated to Lord John Russell "In remembrance of many public services and private kindnesses."
See also
- Principal residence and museum - Pembroke Lodge
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Wikisource has original works written by or about: John Russell, 1st Earl Russell |
References
- ^ John Prest, Lord John Russell (University of South Carolina Press, 1972), 11-13.
- ^ Quoted in Blair G. Kenney, "Trollope's Ideal Statesmen: Plantagenet Palliser and Lord John Russell" in Nineteenth-Century Fiction, Vol. 20, No. 3. (Dec., 1965), pp. 281-285.
- ^ Internet Archive: Details: Memoirs, journal, and correspondence of Thomas Moore. Ed. by the Right Honourable Lord John Russell, M.P
- ^ Internet Archive: Details: Memoirs, journal, and correspondence of Thomas Moore. Ed. by the Right Honourable Lord John Russell, M.P
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.
External links
- Lord John Russell 1792-1878 biography from the Liberal Democrat History Group
- Lord John Russell by Stuart J. Reid
- More about Earl Russell on the Downing Street website.
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