Bertrand Russell (Earl Russell)

Bertrand Russell was born into an influential aristocratic British family. He was a lonely teenager, but his interest in religion, mathematics, literature, and philosophy helped occupy him. After graduating from Trinity College, Russell began publishing studies in politics and mathematics and philosophical essays. In 1910, he became a lecturer in the University of Cambridge. Along with his PhD student at Cambridge, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Russell is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy. Russell was also a notable anti-war activist, and was imprisoned for his pacifist activities in WWI. Russell was a prolific author, and 1950, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.