Ampthill Odo

Ampthill, Odo William Leopold Russell, Baron, grandson of the 6th Duke of Bedford, was born in 1829. He entered the diplomatic service in 1849, and after working at Vienna and Paris, and in the Foreign Office at home, he became attache at Constantinople during the Crimean war, under Lord Stratford de Redcliffe. In 1858 he was sent to Rome as Secretary of Legation, and he subsequently remained there on special service till 1870, his chief duty being to act as intermediary between the British Government and the Vatican. In 1870 he was recalled to take up the post of Assistant-Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office. Next year he became ambassador at Berlin, and held that position till his death in 18S4. With Lords Beaconsfield and Salisbury he represented England at the Berlin Congress of 1878. In 1881 he received a peerage.