Lord Charles James Fox Russell (10 February 1807-29 June 1894), was a British soldier and Whig politician.

Background

Russell was the third son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, LLD, FSA , known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician and notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents...

, by his second wife Lady Georgiana, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon

Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon

Alexander 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...

. Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford

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

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...

 and John Russell, 1st Earl Russell

John Russell, 1st Earl 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....

 were his elder half-brothers and Lord Edward Russell

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:...

 and Lord Alexander Russell

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...

 his full brothers.

Cricket

An amateur cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er, Russell played first-class cricket

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 for the Marylebone Cricket Club

Marylebone Cricket Club

Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...

 between 1833 and 1846.

Career

Russell was a Lieutenant-Colonel in both the 52nd Regiment

52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot

The 52nd Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India during the Anglo-Mysore Wars...

 and the Royal Horse Guards

Royal Horse Guards

The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...

. In 1832 he was returned to Parliament for Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament from 1295 until 1885, when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.-History:...

, a seat he held until 1841 and again briefly in 1847. In 1848 he was appointed Serjeant-at-Arms

Serjeant-at-Arms

A Sergeant-at-Arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word sergeant is derived from the Latin serviens, which means "servant"....

 of the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

, which he remained until 1875.

Family

Russell married Isabella Clarissa, daughter of William Griffith Davies, in 1834. They had two sons, of whom the youngest was George W. E. Russell, and three daughters. Lady Charles Russell died in June 1884. Russell survived her by ten years and died in June 1894, aged 87.

Ancestry

External links