William Ralston Shedden-Ralston (1828–89)

Librarian, folklorist, and Russian scholar. BA, Cambridge (Trinity), 1850. Entered Lincoln’s Inn, 1850; called to the bar, 1861, but never practised. Became involved with the Working Men’s College. Employed in the department of printed books at the British Museum, 1853–75. Became a Russian specialist, making translations and writing reviews and articles. His books included Krilof and his fables (1869), The songs of the Russian people (1872), Russian folk-tales (1873), and Early Russian history (1874). Helped to found the Folklore Society.