Oliver Russell , 2nd Baron Ampthill ( Arthur ) Oliver Villiers Russell , 2nd Baron Ampthill , GCSI , GCIE , DL , JP ( 19 February 1869 – 7 July 1935 ) was a British peer , rower and administrator who served as the Governor of Madras from October 1900 to February 1906 and acted as the Viceroy of India from April to December 1904 . Oliver Russell was born on 19 February 1869 to Odo Russell , 1st Baron Ampthill , and Lady Emily Russell in Rome and was educated at Eton and Oxford . Oliver Russell succeeded to the barony of Ampthill at the age of 15 on the death of his father . Russell served as the Assistant Private Secretary to Joseph Chamberlain in 1895 to 1897 and then Private Secretary from 1897 to 1900 , when he was appointed Governor of Madras . At the age of 31 , Russell became the youngest - ever to be appointed Governor of Madras and served from 1900 to 1906 . Russell also served as the Viceroy of India from April to December 1904 , when Lord Curzon was re - elected for a second term . Early life . Oliver Russell , was born 19 February 1869 in Rome , the eldest son of the 1st Baron Ampthill , and Lady Emily Theresa ( née Villiers ) , Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria and daughter of the 4th Earl of Clarendon . Russell was educated at Chignell ' s and Eton and graduated from New College , Oxford , in 1898 with a third - class honours ' in modern history . His entry in Vanity Fair magazine noted of him Politics . In 1895 , Russell was appointed Assistant Secretary to the Colonial Secretary , Joseph Chamberlain , and elevated to Private Secretary in 1897 . That last position never became permanent , as he found himself increasingly allied with Indian nationals both in South and East Africa as well as their native country , and at odds with the British Government . During the First World War , Lord Ampthill commanded a battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment and two of the Bedfordshire Regiment in France . Governor of Madras . Russell was appointed Governor of Madras on 5 September 1900 . At the age of 31 , Russell was the youngest - ever to become Governor of Madras . Russell served from 1900 to 1906 , his tenure almost contemporaneous with that of George Curzon , 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston , as Viceroy of India . As governor , he inaugurated the King Institute in Madras . Russell also inaugurated the Cochin State Forest Tramway on 3 October 1905 . On 4 December 1903 , he inaugurated the Rangaraya Medical College in Cocanada . During Russell ' s tenure , the Oriya Movement for the creation of a separate province of Orissa gathered stream . However , Russell , as governor of Madras , was strongly opposed to the demands for separation of the Oriya - speaking tracts of Vizagapatam and Ganjam districts from Madras . Viceroy of India . When Lord Curzon ' s tenure came to an end in 1904 , Russell was chosen to act as the Viceroy of India until the appointment of a new Viceroy . Russell served from April to December 1904 as Viceroy of India . During his tenure , the proponments of a separate province of Orissa submitted a petition to this effect to Russell . However , Russell rejected all demands to create a separate province of Orissa and include areas from Madras Presidency in it . As Viceroy , Russell was loyal to Curzon and successfully countered the efforts of St John Brodrick , 1st Earl of Midleton , the Secretary of State for India , who wanted to introduce anti - Curzon policies . However , he was unsuccessful against Lord Kitchener , who tightened his stranglehold over the military department . Later life . On returning to England in 1906 , Russell took up the cause of Indians in South Africa . He chaired an advisory committee on Indian students in the United Kingdom but disagreed with the Secretary of State for India John Morley on the issue of constitutional reforms . In 1909 , Russell wrote an introduction to Joseph Doke ' s book " M . K . Gandhi : an Indian Patriot in South Africa " . On 13 July 1909 , Lord Ampthill was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Bedfordshire . He then went on to fight in the First World War , during which he was twice mentioned in despatches , and was one of the founders of the National Party in 1917 . He retired from the service in 1926 with the rank of colonel . Lord Ampthill was President of the Magic Circle . Russell co - founded the National Party in 1917 . Lord Ampthill died of pneumonia 7 July 1935 , a day before Nickalls , prompting the following anonymous epigram among the various tributes in " The Times " : " Oarsmen they lived , and silver goblets mark " < br > " The well - timed prowess of their trusty blades : " < br > " In death their rhythm kept , they now embark " < br > " To row their long last course among the Shades " Personal life . On 6 October 1894 , Ampthill married Lady Margaret Lygon , the daughter of the 6th Earl Beauchamp in Madresfield , Worcestershire , and they had five children : He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son , John Russell . Rowing . Lord Ampthill started rowing at Eton . His record of rowing was one of the longest of his time at Eton and he first had an oar in the Dreadnought on 1 March 1885 , going on to be Captain of the Boats in 1887 and 1888 . Whilst at New College , Oxford Ampthill rowed for Oxford three times against Cambridge in the Boat Race ( 1889 to 1891 ) , winning twice . He was president of both OUBC and the Oxford Union in 1891 . After Oxford , he rowed for Leander Club for a short while then moved to London Rowing Club , becoming club president in 1893 , a position he remained in for almost 40 years until his death in 1935 . Ampthill raced in the Ladies ' Challenge Plate at Henley Royal Regatta for Eton in 1886 , 1887 and 1888 . In 1889 he raced both the Grand Challenge Cup and the Silver Goblets , losing in the final of the latter by 2 - foot to CUBC in a race which the Henley records for the year describe as " One of the best and closest races ever seen " . In 1890 he again competed in both events , this time racing under New College colours , and collected his first Henley medal , rowing with Guy Nickalls in the Goblets . In 1891 , racing this time as Leander , Lord Ampthill was in the crew which won the Grand Challenge Cup , setting a new course record . He also repeated his Goblets win , again with Guy Nickalls . Lord Ampthill was elected a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta in 1896 , a role he performed until 1900 then again from 1910 until 1927 . International Olympic Committee . Between 1894 and 1898 , Lord Ampthill was a member of the original International Olympic Committee . Masonic connections . Ampthill was initiated into the Apollo University Lodge , No . 357 , Oxford , in 1890 . He went on to fill the chief office in several lodges , including the Bard of Avon Lodge , No . 778 , Hampton Court ; The Royal Alpha Lodge , No . 16 , London ; and the Grand Master ' s Lodge , No . 1 . He was made Provincial Grand Master of Bedfordshire in 1900 ; was District Grand Master of Madras from 1901 to 1906 and was made Pro Grand Master of England in 1908 . Honours . After his appointment as Governor of Madras , Russell was appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire ( GCIE ) on 28 December 1900 , shortly before his departure for India . He was later appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the Star of India ( GCSI ) on 2 September 1904 .