Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford

Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford
Admiral Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford by Thomas Gibson, painted c. 1715
Born	1653 Chiswick, London
Died	26 November 1727 (aged 73–74) Covent Garden, London
Buried at	St Michael’s Church, Chenies
Allegiance	Kingdom of England  Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy (1664–1707)  Royal Navy (1707–1717)
Years of service	1666–1717
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Phoenix HMS Reserve HMS Defiance HMS Swiftsure HMS Newcastle
Battles/wars	Third Anglo-Dutch War Nine Years' War
Other work	MP for Launceston, for Portsmouth and for Cambridgeshire

Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, PC (1653 – 26 November 1727) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of Solebay during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, he served as a captain in the Mediterranean in operations against the Barbary pirates.

Russell was one of the Immortal Seven, a group of English noblemen who issued the Invitation to William, a document asking Prince William of Orange to depose King James II. Based in the Netherlands, he served as Prince William’s secretary during the planning of William’s invasion of England and subsequent Glorious Revolution. He was fully engaged in providing naval support for the Williamite War in Ireland until the war ended and was Commander-in-Chief of the Anglo-Dutch force that fought the French fleet at Battle of Barfleur and destroyed much of it in a night attack at the Battle of La Hogue during Nine Years' War.

Russell went on to be First Lord of the Admiralty during the reign of William III and then held the office twice again in the reigns of Queen Anne and King George I. He was also MP for Launceston, for Portsmouth and then for Cambridgeshire.