Jack Russell (dog breeder)

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John ("Jack") Russell (December 21, 1795 – April 28, 1883), "The Sporting Parson" was an enthusiastic hunter and dog breeder as well as an ordained minister. He was reputed to be a man who enjoyed good living.

Born in Dartmouth, England, The Reverend Mr. Russell was educated at Plympton Grammar School, Blundell's School and Exeter College, Oxford, and it was there, tradition has it, that he spotted a little white terrier bitch with dark tan spots over her eyes, ears and at the tip of her tail, who was owned by a milkman. Mr. Russell bought the bitch on the spot, and this girl, called 'Trump', became the foundation bitch of a line of fox hunting terriers that would eventually come to be known as Jack Russells.

Jack Russell was a founding member of The Kennel Club. He helped to write the breed standard for the Fox Terrier (Smooth) and became a respected judge. He did not show his own fox terriers on the conformation bench, saying that the difference between his dogs and the conformation dogs could be likened to the difference between wild and cultivated flowers.

Halsgrove publishers have produced a book entitled, "Parson Jack Russell: The Hunting Legend 1795-1883" by Charles Noon.