The 1847 United Kingdom general election was held from 29 July to 26 August 1847. It saw the Conservatives win the most seats but remain divided between Protectionists and Peelites. This allowed the W
Frederick Richard Say Edward Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby NPG 1806 National Portrait Gallery
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell by Sir Francis Grant detail
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 1
1847 United Kingdom general election
…1847. It saw the Conservatives win the most seats but remain divided between Protectionists and Peelites. This allowed the Whigs, led by Prime Minister Lord John Russell, to retain power. The general election was held amid the Great Irish famine. The Irish Repeal group won more seats than in the previous general election…
Lord Russell c. 1867, Elliott & Fry
John Russell as a young MP
A pro-reform cartoon of 1831 depicting Russell as the man with the cure for the country's ills. Tory MPs for rotten and pocket boroughs are shown as patients requiring "The Russell Purge".
Russell served on the Royal Commission for the Great Exhibition, which took place in 1851 while he was Prime Minister. In this group portrait of the Commissioners, by Henry Wyndham Phillips, Russell is depicted standing behind Prince Albert (fifth from right).