Edith Finch, Countess Russell (5 November 1900 – 1 January 1978) was an American writer and biographer. She was the fourth and last wife of

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

Biography

Finch was born to Edward Bronson Finch, a physician, and his wife, Delia. Raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, she graduated from Miss Chapin's School. She studied at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

(A.B. 1922) and St Hilda's College,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

where she was awarded degrees in 1925 and 1926. Finch was primarily an independent scholar but did teach English literature at

in the late 1920s. She traveled extensively in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, while continuing to write and lecture. She published biographies of Wilfred Scawen Blunt in 1938 and

M. Carey Thomas Martha Carey Thomas (January 2, 1857 – December 2, 1935) was an American educator, suffragist, and linguist. She was the second president of Bryn Mawr College, a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Biography Early life ...

, a president of Bryn Mawr, in 1947. Finch was

's fourth and last wife. She first met Russell in the 1930s through her close friend and housemate Lucy Martin Donnelly, who was a friend of Russell's first wife, Alys. Finch moved to England in 1950 and married Russell in December 1952. By all accounts it was a very happy marriage. The couple settled in Wales, where Bertrand died in 1970. Edith died in 1978.

Works

* ''Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, 1840-1922'', 1938 * ''Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr'', 1947 * ''Strange Humanity. Original thoughts'', 1954

References

External links

* 1900 births 1978 deaths Bertrand Russell Bryn Mawr College alumni 20th-century American biographers American women biographers 20th-century American women writers Bryn Mawr College faculty British countesses Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Writers from New York City {{US-writer-stub