Diplomat and US Congressman. He graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University) in 1791. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but he engaged in mercantile pursuits and not the practice of law. In 1811, President James Madison appointed him to diplomatic service in France. He was transferred to England as the Charge' d'Affaires when the War of 1812 broke out between the United States and Britain. He was one of the five commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Ghent with Great Britain in 1814. Following this he was the Minister to Sweden and Norway through October 16, 1818. He returned to the United States and settled in Mendon, Massachusetts. After serving a term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, he was elected to the Seventeenth US Congress from March 4, 1821 through March 3, 1823. He served as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In 1822, in an effort to assist Henry Clay's effort to win the presidential election over John Quincy Adams, a fellow Ghent commissioner, Russell wrote a pamphlet accusing Adams of favoring the British in the negotiations. Adams response was so devastating in refuting the accusation and so damaging to Russell's reputation that a new phrase was born, "to Jonathan Russell" someone, meaning to destroy one's reputation or political career.
Diplomat and US Congressman. He graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University) in 1791. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but he engaged in mercantile pursuits and not the practice of law. In 1811, President James Madison appointed him to diplomatic service in France. He was transferred to England as the Charge' d'Affaires when the War of 1812 broke out between the United States and Britain. He was one of the five commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Ghent with Great Britain in 1814. Following this he was the Minister to Sweden and Norway through October 16, 1818. He returned to the United States and settled in Mendon, Massachusetts. After serving a term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, he was elected to the Seventeenth US Congress from March 4, 1821 through March 3, 1823. He served as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In 1822, in an effort to assist Henry Clay's effort to win the presidential election over John Quincy Adams, a fellow Ghent commissioner, Russell wrote a pamphlet accusing Adams of favoring the British in the negotiations. Adams response was so devastating in refuting the accusation and so damaging to Russell's reputation that a new phrase was born, "to Jonathan Russell" someone, meaning to destroy one's reputation or political career.
Bio by: Tom Todd
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