Sir Alexander Fraser Russell, (21 October 1876 – 28 March 1952), publicly known as Sir Fraser Russell, was three times acting

Governor of Southern Rhodesia The governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. The governor was appointed by the Crown and acted as the local ...

as well as its long-serving Chief Justice.

Early life

Born at St Andrew's Church, Somerset Road,

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, to

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

J.M. Russell and his wife Nancy, Russell attended Normal College, Merchiston Castle School, Scotland, and the South African College,

. At the South African College he obtained a double degree in Arts and Science and was awarded the Ebden Scholarship to study overseas for three years.

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

had obtained the same scholarship three years previously. He went first to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, where he gained a first class Law Degree in 1900,''The Times'', "Sir Fraser Russell", 29 March 1952. and secondly to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, London, to study law. Russell was called to the

bar in 1901 and later that same year was admitted to the South African Bar. From 1902 to 1915 he was editor of the Supreme Court Reports of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

and

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

before his elevation to the bench in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. Russell married Winifred Robertson in 1904 and together they had two daughters and two sons. In 1931 Russell was appointed Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia and, in 1939, President of the Rhodesian Court of Appeal. While serving as Chief Justice, Russell acted as

from 1934–35, 1936–37 and 1942. He was invested as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in the 1943 New Year Honours. Russell died in 1952 aged 75, survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, with one son killed in action in 1941. Their daughter Ida married the West Indian

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

captain, and later teacher and missionary in Africa,

Jackie Grant George Copeland "Jackie" Grant (9 May 1907 – 26 October 1978) was a West Indian cricketer who captained the West Indies cricket team, West Indies in Test cricket between 1930 and 1935. He was later a missionary in South Africa and Rhodesia. ...

.Jack Grant, ''Jack Grant's Story'', Lutterworth, Guildford and London, 1980, pp. 11–26.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Fraser 1876 births 1952 deaths Politicians from Cape Town People educated at Merchiston Castle School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Governors of Southern Rhodesia Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Chief justices of Rhodesia South African Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire