George William Erskine Russell was born on February 3, 1853, in London, England.

He was a British biographer, memoirist, and Liberal politician. He was educated at Harrow and University College, Oxford, obtaining only a pass degree due to his ill health, particularly myelitis. Russell was a Liberal Member of Parliament for Aylesbury (1880-1885) and Biggleswade (1892- 1895). He was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board (1883-1885) and as Under-Secretary of State for India (1892-1894). He also served as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (1894-1895) and was an Alderman on London County Council (1889-1895). He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1907 and held the honorary degree of LL.D from St. Andrews University. Russell was a regular contributor to many leading newspapers and periodicals, and his weekly articles for the Manchester Guardian were republished in two series of “Collections and Recollections” (1898). He was the author of the biography "The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone" (1891). He was one of the founders of the National Liberal Club.

He died unmarried on March 17, 1919, in London, England.