Dr James Samuel Risien Russell

James Samuel Risien Russell was born in 1863 in British Guiana (now Guyana), his mother was Afro-Guyanese and his father was Scottish.

After attending school in Guyana, Russell moved to the UK to study medicine, graduating in 1883. By the 1890s he'd gained membership, and later fellowship to the Royal College of Physicians, which was a monumental achievement.

Dr Russell specialised in neurology (disorders affecting the bodies nervous system). He contributed to our understanding of the spinal cord, particularly with his research on the effect of vitamin B12 deficiency and what came to be known as subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord, a disorder of the spinal cord.

Throughout his career Dr Russell held senior positions at major institutions. He served as Assistant Physician at University College Hospital and later worked at the National Hospital for Paralysis and Epilepsy (now part of UCLH’s Queen Square institute). His teaching and research placed him firmly within the top tier of neurologists in the UK, he was the first Mixed Race Black neurology consultant in the UK.

In 1908 Dr Russell was appointed Professor of Medical Jurisprudence at University College London (meaning that Dr Russell applied his medical knowledge to legal problems, for example in a court of law). It’s believed that he was one of the first people of African descent to hold such a senior academic position in the UK.

Dr Russell passed away on the 20th March 1939.

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