Russell was an aristocrat

Russell was the third child of John Russell and Georgiana Byng born on August 18, 1792, into the highest levels of British nobility. His father was the 6th Duke of Bedford. His mother was George Byng, daughter of 4th Viscount Torrington. The Russell family, one of the most wealthy and prominent aristocratic landowning families in England since the 17th century, was not anticipated to inherit the family properties because he was the younger son of the 6th Duke of Bedford. He was given the honorific title "Lord John Russell" as the younger son of a duke, although he was not a peer in his own right. So, until he was created an earl and promoted to the House of Lords in 1861, he was permitted to sit in the House of Commons.

Thus, he was born into a family known for its civic spirit. His unconventional schooling certainly had a large role in the depth of his liberalism. Russell was little and ill as a youngster because of his two-month preterm birth even in adulthood he remained under 5 feet 5 inches tall, and his small stature was frequently the butt of jokes by political opponents and caricaturists. He was taken away to school in 1801 when he was nine years old. His mother passed very shortly after that. Russell was taught by tutors, notably Edmund Cartwright, after being expelled from Westminster School in 1804 owing to illness. Young Russell first met Charles James Fox in 1806 when his father was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the transient Ministry of All the Talents. Fox was Russell's first political idol and would always serve as an example for him. Because his health prevented him from enduring the rigors of an English public school, his father eventually sent him to the University of Edinburgh, where he soaked in a lot of Scottish philosophy. Russell resided with Professor John Playfair while attending the University of Edinburgh from 1809 to 1812, who managed his academic pursuits. He did not pursue a degree.