Sir Arthur Edward Ian Montagu Russell (November 30, 1878- February 24, 1964)[1], was a British mineralogist in 20th-century. He was a collector and a collector of collections. He was born in Swallowfield Park, Reading, Berkshire, the son Sir George Russell, 4th Baronet and Lady Constance Charlotte Elizabeth Lennox. He was educated at Eton and studied chemistry at King's College London. He served in France during World War I and was invalided home in 1915. He was awarded an MBE ("Member of the British Empire") in 1920 and succeeded to his father's title as 6th Baronet upon the death of his older brother in 1944. In his lifetime he amassed a huge collection of minerals. Among the more important were the collections of Philip Rashleigh (1728-1811), Lady Elizabeth Coxe Hippisley (1760-1843), John Hawkins (1761-1841), John Hamrease (1764-1811), George Croker Fox (1784-1850)[2], Edmund Pearse (1788-1856), Robert Were Fox (1789-1877)[2], Isaac Walker (1790-1853), Alfred Fox (1794-1874)[2], Sir Maziere Brady (1796-1871), Baroness Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906), Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth (1817-1890), John Ruskin (1819-1900), Col. R.B. Rimington (1828-1910), Arthur Champernowne (1839-1887), J.H. Collins (1841-1916), W. Semmons (1841-1915) and Samuel Henson (1848-1930). The Russell Collection at Swallowfield Park became famous throughout the world, and was visited by mineralogists and collectors from across Europe and America.[3]
Honours and Awards
- President of the [British] Mineralogical Society from 1939 to 1942.
- Bolitho Medal from Royal Geological Society of Cornwall in 1948. [4]
- Henwood Medal from the Royal Institution of Cornwall in 1953.
- Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Oxford in 1956.
- He described and named the new species rashleighite.
- Was honoured by the naming of the minerals russellite and arthurite.
On his death on February 23, 1964, at the age of 86, he left his collection of about 12,000 specimens to the British Museum (Natural History). The Russell Society for amateur and professional mineralogists is named in his honour.
References
- ^ Obituary in The Times, 27 February, 1964, pg 15, col B.
- ^ a b c G.C., R.W. and A. Fox were members of the Fox family of Falmouth.
- ^ http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=750
- ^ [1964] "The William Bolitho Gold Medal", in K. F. G. Hosking & G. J. Shrimpton: Present Views of Some Aspects of the Geology of Cornwall and Devon. Penzance: Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, p.iv.
