John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford KGThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, PC,
LLDDoctor of Law or Doctor of Laws is a doctoral degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country, and includes degrees such as the LL.D., Ph.D., J.D., J.S.D., and Dr. iur.-Argentina:...
, FSA (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as
Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British
WhigThe Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
politician and notably served as
Lord Lieutenant of IrelandThe Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
in the
Ministry of All the TalentsThe Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
. He was the father of Prime Minister
John Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , 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....
.
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford KGThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, PC,
LLDDoctor of Law or Doctor of Laws is a doctoral degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country, and includes degrees such as the LL.D., Ph.D., J.D., J.S.D., and Dr. iur.-Argentina:...
, FSA (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as
Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British
WhigThe Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
politician and notably served as
Lord Lieutenant of IrelandThe Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
in the
Ministry of All the TalentsThe Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
. He was the father of Prime Minister
John Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , 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....
.
Background
Bedford was a younger son of
Francis Russell, Marquess of TavistockFrancis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock was a British politician and the eldest son of the 4th Duke of Bedford....
, eldest son and heir of
John Russell, 4th Duke of BedfordJohn Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, FRS was an 18th century British statesman. He was the fourth son of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Howland of Streatham, Surrey...
. His mother was Lady Elizabeth, youngest child of
Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of AlbemarleLieutenant-General Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle KG, KCB, PC, ADC was a British diplomat and an American colonist....
and Lady Anne Lennox. According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Russell was born on the 20th of September, 1766. However the following entry in the parish registers of St Giles In The fields "John Russell of Francis & Elizabeth marquis & marchioness of Tavistock" dated 2 August, 1766, for his baptism would put his birth earlier.
Political career
Like most Russells, Bedford was a
WhigThe Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
in politics. He sat as
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for
TavistockTavistock was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Devon between 1330 and 1974. Until 1885 it was a parliamentary borough, consisting solely of the town of Tavistock; it returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, when its...
from 1788 to 1790, and served as
Lord Lieutenant of IrelandThe Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
in the
Whig governmentThe Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
of 1806–1807. He became, as did many of his party who were strong followers of Bonapartism, opposed to the
Peninsular WarThe Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, believing that it neither could nor should be won. He funded, along with his son, many anti-war publications. Bedford was sworn of the Privy Council in 1806 and appointed a
Knight of the GarterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
in 1830.
Family
Bedford married firstly the Hon. Georgiana Byng, daughter of George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington, in 1786. They had three sons:
- Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford
Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford KG, PC , styled Marquess of Tavistock from 1802 to 1839, was a British peer and Whig politician.-Background and education:...
- Lord George Russell
Major-General Lord George William Russell was a British soldier, politician and diplomat.The second son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and brother of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Lord Russell, he sat as Member of Parliament for Bedford from 1812 until 1830.Russell married Elizabeth...
- Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , 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....
, Prime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and grandfather of philosopher Bertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
.
After Georgiana's early death in October 1801, Bedford married secondly Lady Georgiana, daughter of
Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of GordonAlexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon KT , styled Marquess of Huntly until 1752, was a Scottish nobleman, described by Kaimes as the "greatest subject in Britain", and was also known as the Cock o' the North, the traditional epithet attached to the chief of the Gordon clan.-Early life:Alexander...
, in 1803. They had ten children, including:
- Lady Georgiana Elizabeth Russell (d. 22 March 1867), married Charles Romilly and had issue
- Reverend Lord Wriothesley Russell (11 May 1804 – 6 April 1886), married Elizabeth Russell, his second cousin once removed, died without issue
- Admiral Lord Edward Russell
Admiral Lord Edward Russell CB MP was a British naval officer and Whig politician.-Early life:He was the son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and his second wife Lady Georgina Gordon-Career:...
(24 April 1805 – 21 May 1887), married Mary Ann Taylor and died without issue
- Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles James Fox Russell
Lord Charles James Fox Russell , was a British soldier and Whig politician.-Background:Russell was the third son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, by his second wife Lady Georgiana, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon...
(10 February 1807 – 29 June 1894), married Isabella Davies and had issue
- Lady Louisa Jane Russell (8 July 1812 – 31 March 1905), married James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn
James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn KG PC , styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and the Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a British Conservative politician and statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.In 1860, The Times noted that Hamilton was one of only three to...
and had issue
- General Lord Alexander Russell
General Lord Alexander George Russell GCB was the son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and his second wife, the Duchess of Bedford, Georgina Gordon Russell, although it has been claimed that Lord Alexander Russell's father was actually the Victorian painter Sir Edwin Landseer, who conducted a...
(16 September 1821 – 10 January 1907), married Anne Holmes and had issue
- Lady Rachel Evelyn Russell (1826 – 21 February 1898), married Lord James Butler and had issue.
The Duchess of Bedford was a great patroness of the arts, and had a long standing relationship with the painter Sir Edwin Landseer, a man twenty years her junior. However the Bedfords' marriage was considered to be a very happy one. Bedford died in October 1839, aged 73, and was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, Francis. The Duchess of Bedford died in February 1853, aged 71.