Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was a 20th century atheist championed by liberals and awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 for his pacifist writings.

Russell was part philosopher and part mathematician. His biggest work was a three-volume attempt to derive all mathematical principles from a well-defined set of axioms and inference rules in symbolic logic, entitled Principia Mathematica (1910-1913). He published this work with Alfred North Whitehead.

Russell failed in his effort. In fact, Kurt Godel proved in 1931 that what Russell attempted to do is mathematically impossible.

A member of British nobility with the title of "Earl", Russell remained a hero to those on the political left, particularly in the English-speaking world, throughout his life.

Russell's politics were left-wing. During the Cold War he advocated nuclear disarmament, provoking controversy with the phrase "better Red than dead."