Patricia Russell, Countess Russell (1910 – 2004) was the third wife of philosopher Bertrand Russell and a significant contributor to his book A History of Western Philosophy. Lady Russell was born Marjorie Helen Spence in 1910. As her parents had always wanted a boy, she was known as 'Peter', a nickname she retained throughout her life. She met Bertrand Russell in 1930 when she was a 21-year-old undergraduate at the University of Oxford, hired by Russell's second wife Dora Black as a governess. They had an affair and were married at the Midhurst register office on 18 January 1936. They had one son, Conrad Sebastian Robert Russell, 5th Earl Russell, who became a prominent historian and one of the leading figures in the Liberal Democrat party. They had an acrimonious separation in 1949. Patricia was a member of the first board of the Harlow Development Corporation, serving from 1947 to 1950. She smoked a pipe. (en), Patricia Russell, Countess Russell (1910–2004), was the third wife of philosopher Bertrand Russell and a significant contributor to his book, A History of Western Philosophy. [1] Lady Russell was born Marjorie Helen Spence in 1910., Bertrand Russell’s relationship with his third wife, Patricia Russell (nee Spence), remains largely unexplored, primarily due to the long-standing embargo on correspondence between Russell and Patricia contained in McMaster University’s Russell Archives that has only recently been lifted..