William Huntington Russell
William Huntington Russell ( born August 12, 1809 † May 19, 1885 ) was, along with Alphonso Taft founder of the Yale secret society Skull & Bones.
Russell came from a family that had come through the opium trade in the Chinese Empire to power and prosperity. 1831/1832 he studied in Germany, at a time when the ideas of the philosopher Hegel found their way into the educational system. After his return in 1832 Russell founded, together with 13 other Yale graduates the secret society Skull & Bones.
He married in 1836 Marry Hubbard. Russel was a doctor of medicine and director of the Collegiate and Commercial Institute in New Haven, home to Yale University later. The goal of the Institute was " to provide young people at an early age security and to leave as early as possible to get a sound education in the English style ." This should serve as a basis to provide the most accurate possible preparation for the later college career and business life.