Elbert Russell (1871-1951) was a Quaker historian, writer, and professor of religion at Earlham College and Duke University. He was born in Friendsville, Tennessee in 1871 and later moved to West Newton, Indiana with his family. He graduated from Earlham College in and soon became the head of the religion department at the school. During his 2-year tenure he advocated the integration of modern scholarship with traditional biblical teachings. Following his time at Earlham, Russell went on to teach at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and later travelled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Southwest Asia. In 1926 Russell began his 19-year career at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, which included times as a professor as well as an 8-year term as the Dean of the Divinity School. While in North Carolina, Russell helped to organize Durham Friends, which would later become the Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends.

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