Russell would not have been Russell without his teacher and later colleague, Alfred Whitehead. This British philosopher, logician and mathematician entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1880, where he excelled in every subject, particularly literature, philosophy, theology and mathematics. While still a student, he took an interest in Maxwell's research, but soon became fascinated by the early development of modern algebra, culminating in his
Treatise of Universal Algebra, published in 1898. His outstanding results in the Mathematical Tripos (a highly selective examination; see
Tangente 137, 2010) earned him a place on the teaching staff as early as 1884.