Oliver Cromwell

An English military political leader best known for overthrowing the king and leading the Commonwealth of England. He rose from country gentleman through the ranks to command the Army and eventually to impose his rule on England, Scotland, and Ireland as Lord Protector, from 1653 until his death. He passionately advocated religious liberty and equitable justice, but let blasphemers be tortured and imprisoned critics. Cromwell remains perhaps the most controversial figure in English history - a regicidal dictator to some historians and a hero of egalitarianism to others