Earl of, John Wilmot Rochester

Born in 1647, John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, was an English courtier and poet closely associated with the court of Charles II. He became famous for dazzling wit, biting satire, love lyrics, and a boldly irreverent style that helped define Restoration literature.

Rochester studied at Oxford while still very young and later traveled in Europe before returning to England. At court he built a reputation for charm, intelligence, and reckless behavior in equal measure, and that mix of brilliance and notoriety has followed him ever since. Much of his work circulated in manuscript during his lifetime rather than in authorized printed editions.

He died in 1680 at just 33 years old. Despite his brief life, Rochester remains a major figure in English poetry, remembered for writing that could be funny, skeptical, intimate, and brutally honest all at once.