Russell, William, Lord, prominent politician in Charles II.'s reign, younger son of the Earl of Bedford; entered the first Restoration Parliament, became a prominent leader in the Country Party in opposition to the Cabal (q.v.) and the Popish schemes of the king; vigorously supported the Exclusion Bill to keep James, Duke of York from the throne in 1683; was charged with complicity in the Rye-house Plot, was found guilty on trumped-up evidence, and beheaded (1639‒1683).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Russell, John, Earl * Russell, William Clark