author
viscount John Russell Amberley
1842–1876
A radical Victorian aristocrat, he pushed for ideas that shocked much of his era, including religious skepticism, women's suffrage, and birth control. His brief life linked high politics with bold social reform, and he is also remembered as the father of philosopher Bertrand Russell.
1 Audiobook
An analysis of religious belief
by viscount John Russell Amberley
About the author
Born on 10 December 1842, Viscount Amberley was the eldest son of John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, who served twice as Prime Minister. He was a British politician and writer, educated at Harrow, Edinburgh, and Trinity College, Cambridge, and he sat in Parliament for Nottingham from 1866 to 1868.
Amberley became known less for a long political career than for the independence of his views. He was openly unorthodox in religion and supported causes that were highly controversial in Victorian Britain, including women's suffrage and birth control. That willingness to challenge convention made him a striking figure in his own time.
He married Katharine Louisa Stanley, and their children included Bertrand Russell, who would later become one of the twentieth century's best-known philosophers. Amberley died young, on 9 January 1876, at just 33, leaving behind a reputation for intellect, reforming energy, and unusual courage in public life.