Scott , Russell , c 1873-1961 , teacher and founder of the Phonetic Alphabet Association

Not much is known about the early life of Russell Scott (c. 1873-1961) but it is clear from this collection of papers that whilst at Balliol Collge, Oxford, he was a member of the hockey team and founded the Oxford branch of the Fabian Society. It was at a talk held by the Society that Scott first met George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). In 1907 he became interested in universal languages and started to learn Esperanto. However between 1908 and 1930 he became somewhat sidetracked by Ido, an offshoot of Esperanto. Scott had a varied career as a language teacher and was the first headmaster of the junior department of Bedales School. In 1912 he emigrated to the United States of America, where he was Professor of French at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. He returned to England in 1920 and also worked as an examiner for the Oxford and London Examination Boards. During the early part of 1950 he became actively interested in the use of Sprechspur (Speech-Tracing) in Germany for teaching young children to read. It was a phonetic alphabet originally devised by Felix von Kunowski (1868-1943) in 1927. In the same year Scott wrote to Shaw, as he was aware that Shaw had made a provision in his will to provide funds to encourage further research into a universal alphabet. Unfortunately however, Shaw died later that year without naming an alphabet of his choice. Scott spent the next seven years trying to persuade the Public Trustee that the Kunowski alphabet was the only possible choice. In 1955, Scott founded the Phonetic Alphabet Association, as a result of the situation concerning Shaw's will, its aim was to introduce Speech-Tracing into British schools. He was the nephew of C.P Scott of the Manchester Guardian and used this relationship extensively in order to get articles and letters concerning the Sprechspur system published. He also wrote, in Esperanto, an International Language for Scouts which was published in 1952. He was an active promoter of international languages and alphabet reform, contributed funds to the World Federation Movement and was a supporter of World Citizenship, and was also a member of the Simplified Spelling Society. Scott died on the 2nd of January 1961, aged 88.