John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647-26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court.
Biography[]
John Wilmot was born in Ditchley, Oxfordshire, England in 1647, the son of Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, a Cavalier and staunch ally of King Charles II of England. King Charles II took a paternal role in John Wilmot's life and arranged his future marriage to the wealthy heiress Elizabeth Malet, uplifting him from poverty. When Malet's family opposed the prospect marriage, Wilmot abducted her, causing him to be imprisoned in the Tower of London for three weeks before apoloigizing to the King. He redeemed himself by volunteering for the Royal Navy during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Vagen in 1665 and being named a Gentleman of the Bedchamber in 1666 as a reward for his service. He finally married Malet in 1667 after a second elopement, and he also had an affair with Nell Gwyn, later King Charles' mistress. Rochester became infamous at court for his drunkenness, vivacious conversation, and sexual misbehavior, and he composed rakish poetry that reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester became a renowned satirist, publishing A Satyr Against Reason and Mankind. He came to fall into disfavor with the King due to his wild antics, and he died of syphilis in 1680.