April 25, 1599 - Oliver Cromwell

Cromwell rose from provincial obscurity to command the forces that defeated a king, then governed England as Lord Protector with an authority that blurred the line between military rule and constitutional order. His campaign in Ireland left a legacy of massacre and dispossession that shaped Anglo-Irish relations for centuries. The same religious conviction that drove his military effectiveness also informed his capacity for severity — against Catholic populations, against political opponents, against the institutions he had fought to reform.

From Wikipedia

Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English statesman, farmer and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially as a senior commander in the Parliamentarian army and later as a politician. A leading advocate of the execution of Charles I in January 1649, which led to the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector from December 1653 until his death in September 1658.

Although elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon in 1628, much of Cromwell's life prior to 1640 was marked by financial and personal failure. He became a religious Independent in the 1630s, and thereafter believed his successes were the result of divine providence. In 1640, he served as MP for Cambridge in the Short and Long Parliaments. He joined the Parliamentarian army when the First English Civil War began in August 1642 and quickly demonstrated his military prowess. In 1645, he was appointed commander of the New Model Army cavalry under Thomas Fairfax, and he played a key role in winning the English Civil War.

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