Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/378

352 characters, sufficiently like the Roman letters to be read easily, to which he added twenty-two prefixes and suffixes. This system of writing never was in- troduced generally, but he simplified mathematical characters, and his printed maps, from raised de- signs, in which he used wave-lines for water, are still in use. He went abroad for his health, but on his return he engaged in numerous philan- thropic schemes. He was one of the founders of the New York prison association, its corresponding secretary in 1846-'54, and subsequently a vice- president, was superintendent of the New York juvenile asylum in 1851-'8. and a member of the board of education in 1848-'51. He also established in 1850 a house of employment for women, which institution was under the care of his wife and daughter. During his old age he made further im- provements in printing for the blind.

'''RUSSELL. Lord Alexander George''', British soldier, b. in England in 1821. He is a son of the sixth Duke of Bedford, entered the army in 183S), and was promoted captain in 1846, major in 1853, lieutenant-colonel in 1856, colonel in 1861, major- general in 1874, and lieutenant-general in 1877. He was aide-de-camp to the governor-general of Canada in 1847. served in the Caffir war in 1853-'3 as deputy assistant quartermaster-general to the 1st division, and was present at the battle of Berea, for which he obtained a medal. He took part in the Crimean war. was at the siege of Sebastopol. and for gallant conduct presented with the Crimea medal and clasp, and with Sardinian and Turkish medals and the order of the Medjidie. He com- manded at Shorncliffe in 1873-'4, and in southeast- ern England in 1877-'8, served in Canada In mi 1883 till 1888, and at the latter date was succeeded by Gen. Sir John Ross. His headquarters were at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

RUSSELL, Alexander Jamieson, Canadian engineer, b. in Glasgow. Scotland. 29 April, 1807. He settled with hi> ptiivnts in 1822 in Megantic county, Can., where his father was crown-lands agent. The son became deputy provincial surveyor in 1829, entered the commissariat department' in 1830, served for two years on the construction of the Rideau canal, and afterward was engaged dur- ing eight years in the work of the department at Quebec. He resigned in 1841, and became civil engineer in charge of public works in the mari- time counties of Lower Canada, where for five years he projected and constructed roads and bridges. In 1846 he was transferred to the crown timber office at Ottawa to settle differences between lum- bermen, and to grant licenses to cut timber on Ot- tawa river and its tributaries. Afterward the col- lection of the timber revenues and the inspection of the other crown timber agencies in Lower and Upper Canada were added to his duties. He has published a geographical work (Ottawa, 1869).

RUSSELL, Archibald, philanthropist, b. in Ed- inburgh, Scotland, in 1811 ; d. in New York city, 12 April, 1871. His father, James, was for many years president of the Royal society of Edinburgh. The son was graduated at the University of Edinburgh in philosophy, law. and medicine, and subsequently studied at the University of Bonn, Germany. He settled in New York city in 1836, where he devoted his time and fortune to benevolent and educational enterprises, founding the Five Points mission, of which he was president for eighteen years, and aid- ing in establishing the Half-Orphan asylum, of which he was a vice-president. He was an actie member of the Christian commission during the civil war, gave largely to its support, and was chair- man of the famine relief committee. He nun If his summer home in Ulster county, opposite Hyde Park, N. Y., from 1844 until his death, and was connected with the most important internal improvements in that region. He established its present system of common schools, founded the Ulster county sav- ings bank, and was its president from its establish- ment until his death, and built a Presbyterian church at his own cost near his country-seat, Gleu- Albyn. Mr. Russell married Helen Rutherford, a daughter of Dr. John Watts. He published " Prin- ciples of Statistical Inquiry " (New York, 1839), and Account of 11,000 Schools in New York" (1847).

'''RUSSELL. Benjamin''', journalist, b. in Boston, Mass., 13 Sept., 1761 ; d. there, 4 Jan., 1845. He was apprenticed to Isaiah Thomas, at Worcester, Mass., but before completing his term enlisted in the Revolutionary army, and contributed war news to the " Spy," Thomas's paper. He began the pub- lication of the " Columbian Centinel " about 1784, a semi-weekly journal, which had no equal in its control of public sentiment. He was aided by Stephen Higginson, John Lowell. Fisher Ames, Timothy Pickering, and George Cabot. In 1788 Russell attended the Massachusetts convention for ratifying the constitution of the United States, and made the first attempt at reporting for any I!os- ton newspaper. His enterprise was conspicuous in collecting foreign intelligence, and, in order to ob- tain the latest news, he visjted all the foreign ves- sels that came into Boston harbor. The " Centi- nel " kept regular files of the " Moniteur," which brought Louis Philippe and Talleyrand frequently to its office during their stay in Boston. An atlas, which was the gift of the former, was of constant service to Russell in preparing his summaries of military news from the continent. When congress was holding its first session, Russell wrote to the department of state, and offered to publish gratu- itously all the laws and other official documents the treasury then being almost bankrupt which offer was accepted. At the end of several years he was called upon for his bill. It was made out, and receipted. On being informed of this fact. Gen. Washington said: " This must not be. When Mr. Russell offered to publish the laws without pay, we were poor. It was a generous offer. We are now able to pay our debts. This is a debt of honor, and must be discharged." A few days after- ward Mr. Russell received a check of $7,000, the full amount of his bill. In 1795-1830 he published a Federalist paper, called the " Gazette," which was a violent enemy of France, Jefferson, and the Re- publican newspapers, and held its influence under the same management until 1830. Russell retired from the " Centinel " in 1828. He originated the phrase the " era of good feeling " on the occasion of President Monroe's visit to Boston in 1817, when the chiefs of both parties, the Republicans and Federalists, united in the support of tin- executive. He represented Boston in the general court for twenty-four years, served several terms in the state senate, and was a member of the executive council and of the Constitutional convention of 1820.

RUSSELL, Henry, vocalist, b. in Sheerness, Kent, 24 Dec., 1813. He was the son of a Hebrew merchant, and in infancy appeared in Christmas pantomimes. Later he studied music, and subsequently taught. He settled in Rochester. N. Y., in 1843, as teacher of the piano-forte, and became widely known as a composer and vocalist. For years he travelled in this country, giving monologue entertainments of his own composition. He was also engaged for the concerts of oratorio and philharmonic societies, and recited the soliloquies in &ldquo;Hamlet,&rdquo; &ldquo;Richard III.,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Macbeth&rdquo; to his own