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Robert Sidney, 1st earl of Leicester
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Robert Sidney, 1st earl of Leicester, detail of a painting by an unknown artist, c. 1588; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
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Robert Sidney, 1st earl of Leicester, detail of a painting by an unknown artist, c. 1588; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Robert Sidney, 1st earl of Leicester, detail of a painting by an unknown artist, c. 1588; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Robert Sidney, 1st earl of Leicester

British soldier and politician
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Quick Facts
Born:
November 19, 1563, Penshurst, Kent, England
Died:
July 13, 1626, Penshurst (aged 62)
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Robert Sidney, 1st earl of Leicester (born November 19, 1563, Penshurst, Kent, England—died July 13, 1626, Penshurst) was a soldier, diplomatist, and patron of literature. He was the younger brother of Sir Philip Sidney and second son of Sir Henry Sidney, an English lord deputy in Ireland. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford, he travelled on the Continent during most of the period 1578–83. In 1585 he entered Parliament, and from 1585 to 1587 he fought against Spain in the Netherlands under his uncle, Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester. He was knighted in 1586. Appointed governor of Flushing, Sidney returned to ...(100 of 206 words)

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