Fraser Russell
Encyclopedia
Sir Alexander Fraser Russell KBE
(21 October 1876 – 28 March 1952), known as Fraser Russell, was three times acting Governor of Southern Rhodesia as well as its long-serving Chief Justice
.
Born at St Andrew's Church, Somerset Road, Cape Town
to the Reverend JM Russell and his wife Nancy, Russell attended Normal College, Merchiston Castle School
, Scotland, the South African College
, Cape Town
. At the South African College he obtained a double degree in Arts and Science and was awarded the Ebden Scholarship to study overseas for three years. General Jan Smuts had obtained the same scholarship three years previously. He went first to St John's College, Cambridge
, where he gained a first class Law Degree in 1900, and secondly to the Middle Temple London to study law.
Russell was called to the Middle Temple
bar in 1901 and later that same year was admitted to the South African Bar. From 1902 to 1915 he was editor of the Supreme Court Reports of the Cape Colony
and Union of South Africa
before his elevation to the bench in Southern Rhodesia
. Russell married Winifred Robertson in 1904 and together they had two daughters and two sons.
In 1931 Russell was appointed Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia and in 1939 President of the Rhodesian Court of Appeal. While serving as Chief Justice, Russell acted as Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1934-35, 1936-37 and 1942. In public life, Russell was always known as Fraser Russell not Alexander Fraser Russell.
Russell died in 1952 aged 75, survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, with one son killed in action in 1941.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(21 October 1876 – 28 March 1952), known as Fraser Russell, was three times acting Governor of Southern Rhodesia as well as its long-serving Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
.
Born at St Andrew's Church, Somerset Road, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
to the Reverend JM Russell and his wife Nancy, Russell attended Normal College, Merchiston Castle School
Merchiston Castle School
Merchiston Castle School is an independent school for boys in the village of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has about 480 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 8 and 18 as either boarders or day pupils; day pupils make up 35% of the school....
, Scotland, the South African College
South African College
The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools .-History:...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. At the South African College he obtained a double degree in Arts and Science and was awarded the Ebden Scholarship to study overseas for three years. General Jan Smuts had obtained the same scholarship three years previously. He went first to St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, where he gained a first class Law Degree in 1900, and secondly to the Middle Temple London to study law.
Russell was called to the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
bar in 1901 and later that same year was admitted to the South African Bar. From 1902 to 1915 he was editor of the Supreme Court Reports of the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
and Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
before his elevation to the bench in Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
. Russell married Winifred Robertson in 1904 and together they had two daughters and two sons.
In 1931 Russell was appointed Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia and in 1939 President of the Rhodesian Court of Appeal. While serving as Chief Justice, Russell acted as Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1934-35, 1936-37 and 1942. In public life, Russell was always known as Fraser Russell not Alexander Fraser Russell.
Russell died in 1952 aged 75, survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, with one son killed in action in 1941.