John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (c. 1485 – 14 March 1555) was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal. Among the lands and property he was given by Henry VIII after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, were the Abbey and town of Tavistock, and the area that is now Covent Garden. Russell is the ancestor of all subsequent Earls and Dukes of Bedford and Earls Russell, including John Russell, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and philosopher Bertrand Russell, as well
John Russell (developer) John Russell (developer) John Russell (25 December 1821 – 24 December 1896) was an Irish-American industrialist active in the development of Ashland, Kentucky, and the founding of Russell, Kentucky, which was named in his honor. John Russell was born near Derry, Ireland, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1830. His father, also named John Russell, was a farmer and settled in Tyler County, Virginia (now West Virginia). At 16, Russell left for Wheeling, where he clerked at a hardware store for five years. In 1850, he moved to Kentucky to serve as bookkeeper for the Amanda