The Lord Ampthill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Viceroy and Governor-General of India Acting | |
| In office 30 April 1904 – 13 December 1904 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Curzon of Kedleston |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Curzon of Kedleston |
| Governor of Madras | |
| In office 15 October 1900 – 30 April 1904 | |
| Governor-General | The Lord Curzon of Kedleston |
| Succeeded by | Sir James Thompson (acting) |
| In office 13 December 1904 – 15 February 1906 | |
| Governor-General | George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston |
| Preceded by | Sir James Thompson (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Sir Gabriel Stokes (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1869-02-19)19 February 1869 Rome, Papal States (now Italy) |
| Died | 7 July 1935(1935-07-07) (aged 66) United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Party | Liberal Unionist,Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, includingJohn andGuy |
| Parent(s) | Odo Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill Lady Emily Villiers |
Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill,GCSI GCIE (19 February 1869 – 7 July 1935) was a British peer and civil servant. He served asGovernor of Madras from October 1900 to February 1906, and as actingViceroy of India from April to December 1904.
Russell served as the Assistant Private Secretary toJoseph Chamberlain from 1895 -1897, and as Private Secretary to the same from 1897 to 1900, when he was appointed Governor of Madras. Russell also served as the Viceroy of India from April 1904 to December 1904, whenLord Curzon periodically returned to England.
(Arthur) Oliver Villiers Russell was born on 19 February 1869 inRome.[1] He was the eldest son ofOdo Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill, andLady Emily Theresa (née Villiers), who was Lady of the Bedchamber toQueen Victoria and daughter of the 4thEarl of Clarendon. Russell succeeded to the barony of Ampthill at the age of 15 on the death of his father. He was educated at Chignell's,Eton College, andNew College, Oxford, from which he graduated in 1892 with a third-class honours in modern history. He rowed with the Oxford crew that won the 1890Boat Race. His entry inVanity Fair noted of him:
He is a very tall, very agreeable, and good-looking young man, with a long, strong back, which is worth much in a boat. He is aFreemason and aLiberal Unionist, though he has not yet become famous in the House of Lords. He intends to devote himself to the management of Foreign Affairs. He can shoot. He has many friends who call him "Dick."[2]
He was commissioned into the part-timeRoyal 1st Devon Yeomanry as aSecond lieutenant on 30 January 1892 and was promoted toLieutenant on 21 March 1893. He left in 1897.[1][2]
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In 1895, Russell was appointed Assistant Secretary to the Colonial Secretary,Joseph Chamberlain: in 1897, he was promoted to Private Secretary, but did not continue in this position as a consequence of his sympathy with the natives of South- and East- Africa, and of India.
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Russell was appointed Governor of theMadras Presidency on 5 September 1900,[3] when he was aged 31 years. He served in this position from 1900 to 1906: his tenure was almost contemporaneous withLord Curzon's Viceregality. As Governor of Madras, Ampthill he inaugurated theKing Institute in Madras; theRangaraya Medical College inCocanada, on 4 December 1903; and theCochin State Forest Tramway, the latter on 3 October 1905.[4] During Russell's tenure, sympathy for theOriya Movement for the creation of a separate province of Orissa increased: Russell opposed the demands for the separation of the Oriya-speaking tracts of Vizagapatam and Ganjam districts from Madras.[citation needed]
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When Lord Curzon's tenure came to an end in 1904, Russell was chosen to act as the Viceroy of India until the appointment of a new Viceroy. Russell served from April to December 1904 as Viceroy of India. During his tenure, the proponents of a separate province of Orissa submitted a petition to this effect to Russell. However, Russell rejected all demands to create a separate province of Orissa and include areas from Madras Presidency in it.
As Viceroy, Russell was loyal to Curzon and successfully countered the efforts ofSt John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, theSecretary of State for India, who wanted to introduce anti-Curzon policies. However, he was unsuccessful againstLord Kitchener, who tightened his stranglehold over the military department.
He served as theDistrict Grand Master ofDistrict Grand Lodge of Madras (1901-1905).
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On returning to England in 1906, Russell took up the cause of Indians in South Africa. He chaired an advisory committee on Indian students in the United Kingdom but disagreed with theSecretary of State for IndiaJohn Morley on the issue of constitutional reforms. In 1909, Russell wrote an introduction to Joseph Doke's bookM. K. Gandhi: an Indian Patriot in South Africa. On 13 July 1909, Lord Ampthill was appointed aDeputy Lieutenant ofBedfordshire.[5]
On his return to England in 1906 he was commissioned as aMajor in the3rd (Bedfordshire Militia) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment commanded by his kinsmanHerbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford. On 21 June 1908 the militia regiment became part of theSpecial Reserve and on that day he succeeded the Duke asLieutenant-Colonel in command. The3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment was mobilised under Ampthill's command on the outbreak ofWorld War I and carried out its wartime role of training reinforcements for the Bedfordshire Regiment. Meanwhile, Ampthill commanded the 8th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, and 13th (Labour) Battalion,Leicestershire Regiment. He was twicementioned in dispatches and promoted toBrevetColonel for his war services. He becameHonorary Colonel of 3rd Bedfords after the war.[1][2]
He was one of the co-founders of theNational Party in 1917. Lord Ampthill was President ofThe Magic Circle.
Lord Ampthill died of pneumonia 7 July 1935, a day beforeNickalls, prompting the following anonymous epigram among the various tributes inThe Times:
Oarsmen they lived, and silver goblets mark
The well-timed prowess of their trusty blades:
In death their rhythm kept, they now embark
To row their long last course among the Shades[3]
On 6 October 1894, Ampthill married LadyMargaret Lygon,[6] the daughter of the6th Earl Beauchamp inMadresfield, Worcestershire, and they had five children:
He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son,John Russell.
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Lord Ampthill started rowing at Eton. His record of rowing was one of the longest of his time at Eton and he first had an oar in the Dreadnought on 1 March 1885, going on to be Captain of the Boats in 1887 and 1888.[4]
Whilst at New College, Oxford Ampthill rowed forOxford three times againstCambridge inthe Boat Race (1889 to 1891), winning twice. He was president of bothOUBC[5] and theOxford Union in 1891. After Oxford, he rowed forLeander Club for a short while then moved toLondon Rowing Club, becoming club president in 1893[6], a position he remained in for almost 40 years until his death in 1935.
Ampthill raced in theLadies' Challenge Plate atHenley Royal Regatta for Eton in 1886, 1887 and 1888. In 1889 he raced both theGrand Challenge Cup and theSilver Goblets, losing in the final of the latter by 2-foot toCUBC in a race which the Henley records for the year describe as "One of the best and closest races ever seen"[7]. In 1890 he again competed in both events, this time racing under New College colours, and collected his first Henley medal, rowing withGuy Nickalls in the Goblets.
In 1891, racing this time as Leander, Lord Ampthill was in the crew which won theGrand Challenge Cup, setting a new course record. He also repeated his Goblets win, again with Guy Nickalls. Lord Ampthill was elected a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta in 1896, a role he performed until 1900 then again from 1910 until 1927.[8]
Between 1894 and 1898, Lord Ampthill was a member of the originalInternational Olympic Committee.
Ampthill was initiated intoApollo University Lodge No. 357, Oxford, in 1890. He went on to take the chair in several lodges, including Bard of Avon Lodge No. 778, Hampton Court; Royal Alpha Lodge No. 16, London; and Grand Master's Lodge No. 1, London. He was appointed Provincial Grand Master of Bedfordshire in 1900 and as District Grand Master of Madras from 1901 to 1906.[9] He served asPro Grand Master ofUnited Grand Lodge of England from 1908 until his death in 1935.[7]
Lodge Ampthill No.3682 was consecrated in his name in 1914, and continues to meet inCoimbatore, India, under the District Grand Lodge of Madras ofUnited Grand Lodge of England. Its celebrated its Centenary year in 2014.
After his appointment as Governor of Madras, Russell was appointed aKnight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) on 28 December 1900,[8] shortly before his departure for India. He was later appointed aKnight Grand Commander of the Star of India (GCSI) on 2 September 1904.[citation needed]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of Madras 1900–1906 | Succeeded by Sir Gabriel Stokes (acting) |
| Preceded by | Viceroy of India,acting 1904 | Succeeded by |
| Masonic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Pro Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England 1908–1935 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Baron Ampthill 1884–1935 | Succeeded by |
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