Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock

Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock, was born in County Armagh, Ireland on 27 September 1739, becoming the eldest son and heir of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. He lived a brief but intense life, serving as a Member of Parliament and commanding the Bedfordshire Militia with a passionate, almost reckless devotion to military life. His death in 1767 at age twenty-seven cut short a trajectory marked by youthful enthusiasm and high political expectation, leaving behind three sons who would continue the Bedford line.