Robert Devereux (1565-1601), 2nd Earl of Essex, English nobleman and general. Devereux had an extensive military career and played a key role in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. He took part in campaigns against the Spanish, and in Ireland in 1599 as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The Irish campaign was a failure. He was put on trial and confined. This led to his eventual rebellion in 1600. He was defeated, declared a traitor, and put back on trial. Found guilty, he was sentenced to death and beheaded on 25 February 1601 at the Tower of London. Artwork, from an original by J. Oliver in the collection of Horace Walpole, from 'Antiquarian Repertory' (1807).