George William Russell (1816-1878) was born at St. Andrews, Fifeshire, Scotland, into an old and wealthy family. He received his education at the University of Edinburgh and graduated at the age of twenty-three. He then went to London, where he continued his studies in moral philosophy under Francis Hare and in divinity under Thomas Chalmers at Glasgow University
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This period also saw him establish a close friendship with John Stuart Mill, who later wrote to Russell's father: "If you were to take the whole genus of men thus formed for excellence, I do not think you could find another man who would shine so much as George William Russell." Determined to become a minister of the Church of Scotland, Russell traveled to Paris, where he was ordained by the bishop of Edinburgh. After five years of missionary work among the poor in England's industrial north, he settled down into a quiet life as a teacher and writer. After spending several years traveling through Europe and North America, Russell returned home to Scotland where he died at Overton on August 20, 1878, leaving behind him a legacy that would be revered by generations of Scottish admirers.