Richard Cromwell
For the American actor of the 1930s and 1940s, please see Richard Cromwell (actor) |
Portrait of Cromwell |
(
October 4,
1626 –
July 12,
1712) was the third son of
Oliver Cromwell, and the second
Lord Protector of
England,
Scotland and
Ireland, for little over eight months, from
September 3,
1658 until
May 25,
1659. Richard Cromwell's enemies called him
Tumbledown Dick.
Richard was educated at
Magdalene College, Cambridge, thus distinguishing him as the only English head of state to have graduated from a university.
Richard was an unlikely successor, coming to prominence only because his two elder brothers both died before their father. Having previously sat in Parliament, but only having joined the Council of State a year before his appointment as Protector, he had neither the political experience nor the interest required to maintain his position. He gave it up with little hesitation, resigning or "abdicating" after a demand by the
Rump Parliament. This was the beginning of a short period of restoration of the
Commonwealth of England but led to a state of anarchy that resulted in the return of the exiled King
Charles II of England and the
English Restoration. Unlike his father, Richard was not held accountable for the death of King
Charles I. He retired to obscurity, going into exile in continental Europe under the sobriquet of "John Clarke", but returning in
1680 to live out the remainder of his life in Britain.
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BBC Bio of Richard Cromwell*
BBC Bio of Oliver Cromwell*
Britannia.com "Monarchs" Page on Richard Cromwell
