Edward Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Liverpool

Who was Edward Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Liverpool?

Edward Richard Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Liverpool, was a British journalist and Liberal politician.

Russell was a newspaper man who also involved himself in politics. Born in London, he was largely self-made, rising to become Editor of the Liverpool Daily Post, a position he held for almost fifty years. He is reputed to have been a man of great ability, with high religious and moral standards. Well-travelled, an advocate of Temperance, and regarded as able public speaker, he supported the Liberal Party and was a founder of the Liverpool Parliamentary Debating Society. He corresponded with leading figures of the day, for example Annie Besant and H. H. Asquith. In 1865 he left Liverpool for London where he worked for The Morning Star and other newspapers. In writing parliamentary reports, he came to know members of government and was a friend of William Ewart Gladstone.

When Russell returned to Liverpool in 1869, it was as editor of the Daily Post which, under his leadership, became known as a leading provincial newspaper. From 1885 to 1887 Russell was Liberal MP for the constituency of Glasgow Bridgeton, then in 1893 he was knighted.