On this day, 351 years ago, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the English Commonwealth following the English Civil War, died as a result of a urinary tract infection. It was a rather ignoble way to go for the man who, however briefly, overthrew the English monarchy and made himself ruler of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Especially since it was also the anniversary of some of his greatest military battles.

Apparently the man who defeated the Scottish could not win out over his own kidneys.
Cromwell got a funeral fit for a king, but a few years after he died, the monarchy was restored, and Cromwell’s body was ordered exhumed and put on display, along with two other notable monarchy-overthrowers. Cromwell’s head was put on a stake over Westminster Hall, where it sat until a storm knocked it over a few decades later.

The lesson is, if you’ve made some powerful enemies over your lifetime, opt for cremation.

Monty Python composed a biography of Cromwell in song, which you can hear here.

( Photo of Oliver Cromwell’s death mask by Chris Nyborg )