1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680

English courtier, poet and rascal. Few of his works were published in his lifetime (it wasn’t the done thing for gentlemen to publish) but they were circulated in manuscript form and sometimes anonymously via broadsheets.

Wilmot was the second Earl of Rochester, his father having had the title bestowed upon him for military services to Charles II whilst he was in exile under the Commonwealth.

His life alternated between quiet domesticity in the countryside and outrageous indulgence at court. He had to flee the court for some months in 1674 after accidentally handing Charles II a lampoon about him.

He is, unfortunately, more remembered for his extravagant life and early death than for his literary endeavours, though he was admired during his lifetime. He died, aged 33, from the effects of venereal disease and alcoholism. He was reported to have recanted his atheism and libertinism on his death bed.

See The Poetry Foundation for a fuller biography and overview of the merits of Rochester’s works.