Sir William Howard Russell, CVO (28 March 1827 – 10 February 1907) was an Irish reporter with The Times, and is considered to have been one of the first modern war correspondents.

Initially sent by the editor John Delane to Malta to cover British support for the Ottoman Empire against Russia in 1854, Russell despised the term "war correspondent" but his coverage of the conflict brought him international renown, and Florence Nightingale later credited her entry into wartime nursing to his reports.

The Crimean medical care, shelter and protection of all ranks by Mary Seacole[2] was also publicised by Russell and by other contemporary journalists, rescuing her from bankruptcy.

"[3] This reputation led to Russell's being blacklisted from some circles, including British commander Lord Raglan, who advised his officers to refuse to speak with the reporter.

On 20 September 1854, Russell covered the battle above the Alma River—writing his missive the following day in an account book seized from a Russian corpse.

In 1856, Russell was sent to Moscow to describe the coronation of Tsar Alexander II and in the following year was sent to India where he witnessed the final re-capture of Lucknow (1858).

In July 1865 he sailed on the Great Eastern to document the laying of the Atlantic Cable and wrote a book about the voyage[7] with colour illustrations by Robert Dudley.

The marriage was again met with controversy, as the bride's family insisted that any children from the union be raised Roman Catholic, a demand that Russell refused.

Russell's dispatches via telegraph from the Crimea remain as his legacy; for the first time he brought the realities of war home to readers.

They were collected, edited by the author, and published in two volumes as The War in 1856, revised and retitled History of the British Expedition to the Crimea in 1858.