PRIME MINISTER JOHN RUSSELL (GREAT BRITAIN) - AUTOGRAPH ENVELOPE SIGNED - HFSID 23921

JOHN RUSSELL
Signature of British Prime Minister John Russell, addressed to the Earl of Clarendon
Autograph Envelope signed: "The Earl of Clarendon/J. Russell". 1 page, 5x3¼. This is possibly a clipped front of an envelope, as John Russell was never made the Earl of Clarendon. It may be addressed to George William Frederick Villiers, the 4th Earl of Clarendon, who succeeded him as Foreign Secretary twice, in 1853 and again in 1865, when Russell started his second term as Prime Minister. John Russell (1792-1876), who became the Earl Russell in 1860, was always addressed as Lord John Russell, but as a younger son he had inherited no noble title and sat in the House of Commons from 1813 to 1860. A principal author of the Reform Act of 1832, and leader of the Whig Party from 1834, Lord Russell served as Britain's Prime Minister (1846-1852, 1865-1866), and as Foreign Secretary for most of the intervening years. Russell advocated religious freedom, extension of the suffrage, and repeal of the Corn Laws (protective tariffs). Viewing Russia as an expansionist power, he supported the Crimean War (1853-1856). His flirtations with the Confederacy antagonized the US government during the American Civil War. His grandson was the philosopher Bertrand Russell.Lightly toned, soiled and creased. Irregular edges. Lightly discolored at bottom right edge. Otherwise, fine condition.