Francis Xavier Joseph Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, PC, known as Frank Russell (2 July 1867 – 20 December 1946) was a British judge.

Early life and career at the bar

The fourth son of

Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, (10 November 1832 – 10 August 1900) was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England. He was the first Roman Catholic to serve as Lord Chief Justice since the Re ...

, the

Lord Chief Justice of England Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

, and of Ellen Mulholland, Russell was educated at

Beaumont College Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a public school in Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while lying, like the neighbouring Eto ...

and

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, where he gained a

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

in Jurisprudence in 1890. He was active in the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

, and in 1887 made a speech in favour of

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

that led A. V. Dicey, an opponent of Home Rule, to write a letter of congratulations to his father. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1893. He practised at the Chancery bar in the chambers of Mr Justice Joyce. In 1908 he was appointed

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. His practice was very successful, and in 1918 he became one of the 'specials' at the Chancery bar, i.e. a barrister who charged a £50 extra fee for any court appearance.

Judicial career

In 1919 Russell, a Catholic, appeared in front of the House of Lords in ''Bourne v Keane''

919 __NOTOC__ Year 919 ( CMXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By Place Byzantine Empire * March 25 – Romanos Lekapenos, admiral (''droungarios'') of the ...

AC 815, in which the Lords overtuned the rule that a bequest for masses for the dead was void for being "for superstitious uses". Lord Birkenhead, who had heard the case, was so impressed by Russell's performance that he arranged for him to be appointed to the

Chancery Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

of the High Court the same year. Unusually, upon appointment Russell declined the customary knighthood because, as the son of a peer, he outranked a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

. In 1928 he was promoted to the Court of Appeal as a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

on 7 May 1928. A year later, on 18 November 1929, he was appointed

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

and became a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Russell of Killowen, of Killowen in the

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, the same his father already had and his son would have. He retired in 1946 for health reasons and died the same year. Russell married at the

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...

on 17 February 1900 Mary Emily Ritchie, daughter of

Charles Ritchie, 1st Baron Ritchie of Dundee Charles Thomson Ritchie, 1st Baron Ritchie of Dundee, (19 November 1838 – 9 January 1906) was a British businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 until 1905 when he was raised to the peerage. He ser ...

. They had one son, Charles Ritchie Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, also a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Frank 1867 births 1946 deaths Russell of Killowen Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Beaumont College Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn British King's Counsel British Roman Catholics Lords Justices of Appeal Chancery Division judges Sons of life peers Russell 1 Life peers created by George V