1872-1970. English philosopher and
mathematician, who contributed to the
development of modern mathematical logic and
wrote about social issues. His works include
Principia Mathematica 1910-13 (with A N
Whitehead), in which he attempted to show
that mathematics could be reduced to a branch
of logic; The Problems of Philosophy 1912;
and A History of Western Philosophy 1946. He
was an outspoken liberal pacifist. The
grandson of Prime Minister John Russell, he
was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge,
where he specialized in mathematics and
became a lecturer 1895. Russell's pacifist
attitude in World War I lost him the
lectureship, and he was imprisoned for six
months for an article he wrote in a pacifist
journal. His Introduction to Mathematical
Philosophy 1919 was written in prison. He and
his wife ran a progressive school 1927-32.
After visits to the USSR and China, he went
to the USA 1938 and taught at many
universities. In 1940, a US court
disqualified him from teaching at City
College of New York because of his liberal
moral views. He later returned to England and
was a fellow of Trinity College. He was a
life-long pacifist except during World War
II. From 1949 he advocated nuclear
disarmament and until 1963 was on the
Committee of 100, an offshoot of the Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament. Among his other
works are Principles of Mathematics 1903,
Principles of Social Reconstruction 1917,
Marriage and Morals 1929, An Enquiry into
Meaning and Truth 1940, New Hopes for a
Changing World 1951, and Autobiography
1967-69.