John Russell

General John Russell.

General John Russell, M.D., was the personal physician to Governor-General Bruce Hogg. When Hogg suffered a severe stroke on the evening of 16 September 1950, Russell was tending him shortly before his death. In his last few minutes of life, Hogg was joined by the top members of the North American government, including Council President James Billington, Minister for Home Affairs Perry Jay, and Grand Council Minority Leader Hugh Devenny, who attempted to communicate with Hogg through Russell. None of the other men could make out what Hogg said, but Russell later claimed that the governor-general twice looked at Billington and said "you." Billington, as Council President, was Hogg's legal successor as governor-general, and he did succeed Hogg after his death.

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Sobel's source for Russell's role in Hogg's death is Russell's memoirs, Beck and Call: My Life as Palace Physician (Burgoyne, 1959).