Edwin Fairman Russell (July 15, 1914 – December 22, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher who had joined the Royal Navy to fight Germany before the United States entered World War II.

Early life

Russell was born on July 15, 1914, in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. His father, who was born in Mississippi, was a newspaper publisher who founded ''The Newark Star'', which became ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

''. Russell was a 1937 graduate of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Career

As the United States had yet to enter

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Russell enlisted in the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

. In the autumn of 1941, he was summoned for active duty in the

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and, after a brief tour of duty in Canadian waters, attended the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

, and served aboard the British cruiser ''

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

'' as gunnery officer. He met his first wife, Lady Mary, in Scotland while recovering from an injury he received on the job. In 1943, he transferred to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

upon the U.S.'s entry into the War, and eventually joined the staff of Gen.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

Publishing career

During the 1940s, he worked as the associate publisher of ''

'', a Newark newspaper. Russell was the chairman of The Patriot-News Company and the former publisher of The Harrisburg Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. After graduating from

, he worked during the 1940s as the associate publisher of The (Newark, NJ)

Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

. In 1947, Russell paid $2,500,000 to purchase the '' Harrisburg Patriot'' and '' Evening News'' from the widow of Vance C. McCormick, the former Chairman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

who owned the papers and had died in 1946. Russell served in 1952 as chairman of the Pennsylvania Citizens For Eisenhower Committee. He held several positions with

Condé Nast Publications Condé is a French place name and personal name. It is ultimately derived from a Celtic word, "Condate", meaning "confluence" (of two rivers) - from which was derived the Romanised form "Condatum", in use during the Roman period, and thence to ...

; at one time he was publisher of

Vogue magazine ''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. It is part of the global collectio ...

Personal life

On May 15, 1943, he married Lady Sarah Consuelo Spencer-Churchill (1921–2000), daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897–1972). Winston Spencer Churchill, a grandson of the prime minister, served as a page at the wedding. Lady Sarah's grandmother was

Consuelo Vanderbilt Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; 2 March 1877 – 6 December 1964) was an American socialite and member of the Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage to the 9th D ...

(1877–1964), who married Jacques Balsan (1868–1956) after her divorce from the Duke of Marlborough. Before the marriage ended in divorce in 1966, they had four daughters: * Serena Mary Churchill Russell (b. 1944), who was briefly engaged to Michael Santangelo, a Broadway producer, in 1964. She married Neil Balfour (b. 1944), in 1978, who had previously been married to Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, the only daughter of

Prince Paul of Yugoslavia Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, also known as Paul Karađorđević (, English transliteration: ''Paul Karageorgevich''; 27 April 1893 – 14 September 1976), was prince regent of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the minority of King Peter II. Paul w ...

. * Consuelo Sarah Churchill Russell (1946-2020), who married James Lee Toback in 1968. They divorced in 1969 and she married Mark Schulman. They divorced and she married E. William Judson, with whom she had children. * Alexandra Brenda Russell (1949-2018), who married Timothy Campbell Birch in 1970. * Jacqueline Dorothy Russell (b. 1958), who married Eugene Flewellyn Williams III in 1981. Following his divorce, he married Iris Vanderbilt (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Smith) Van Ingen Paine (1927–2006) in 1966. Iris was the daughter of Earl Edward Tailer Smith, the former

United States Ambassador to Cuba The United States ambassador to the Republic of Cuba is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Cuba, and serves as the head of the Embassy of the United States in Havana. Direct bilateral diplom ...

and Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl (1903–2011), and was previously married to Herbert Pratt Van Ingen and Augustus G. Paine III. Her maternal grandparents were Virginia Graham Fair and

William Kissam Vanderbilt II William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – January 8, 1944) was an American motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. Early life He was born on October 26, 1878, in New York City, the secon ...

, the brother of Russell's first wife's grandmother. They later divorced and she married Donald C. Christ. His third and final marriage was in 1976 to Cynthia Cary Van Pelt (b. 1924), the daughter of Guy Fairfax Cary and Cynthia Roche. She was a first cousin once removed of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

, who survived him. From his third marriage, he had three stepchildren: Peter, Abby and Guy Van Pelt. Russell died at his home on

Hobe Sound, Florida Hobe Sound is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States, located along Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010. Geography Hobe Sound ...

, on December 22, 2001. His ashes were scattered by his wife, children, and grandchildren on Omaha Beach, in Normandy, France.

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter, he was the grandfather of Consuelo Lily Balfour (b. 1979) and Alastair Albert David Balfour (b. 1981). Through his daughter Consuelo "Mimi" he was the grandfather of Alexander Russell Judson, Nicholas Judson and Ian Judson Through his youngest daughter, Jacqueline Russell Williams he was the grandfather to three more grandsons, Eugene F. Williams (b. 1985), Henry "Harry" Russell Williams (b. 1988) and Philip Dixon Williams (b. 1989)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Edwin 1914 births 2001 deaths Princeton University alumni American newspaper publishers (people) Businesspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey 20th-century American businesspeople United States Navy personnel of World War II