How long did Richard Cromwell rule as Lord Protector?

His rule was extremely short, lasting less than a year from 1658 until his resignation in 1659. The lack of support from the army and the political elite forced him to step down, leading to the end of the Protectorate.

What happened to Richard Cromwell after he resigned as Lord Protector?

After resigning in 1659, he went into exile to avoid political persecution following the restoration of the monarchy. He eventually returned to England and lived a quiet life until his death in 1712, outliving the political turmoil of his youth by several decades.

Where did Richard Cromwell receive his education?

He was educated at Felsted School, located in Essex, England. This institution was a notable educational establishment in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Why is Richard Cromwell often called the "Tumbledown Dick"?

While the source text does not explicitly use this nickname, it notes his lack of political or military authority compared to his father. His inability to hold power led to the rapid collapse of the government he inherited, marking him as a figure who could not sustain the Protectorate.

Richard Cromwell

Q: Who was Richard Cromwell?

Richard Cromwell was the son of Oliver Cromwell who briefly served as the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1658 to 1659. He was an English politician who inherited the title but lacked the military authority to sustain the republican government.

English politician and Lord Protector (1626–1712)

Person human Q203980

Facts

25 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[20]
Date of birth: October 4, 1626
Date of death: July 12, 1712
Place of birth: Huntingdon
Place of death: Cheshunt
Country of citizenship: Kingdom of Great Britain, Commonwealth of England^[11]^[12]
Occupation: politician
Position held: Member of Parliament in the Parliament of England, Lord Protector, Member of the Second Protectorate Parliament, Member of the First Protectorate Parliament, Member of the 1648-53 Parliament, Chancellor of the University of Oxford^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]
Educated at: Felsted School^[19]
Member of political party: Roundhead^[22]
Father: Oliver Cromwell^[7]
Mother: Elizabeth Cromwell^[8]
Spouse: Dorothy Maijor^[9]
Child: Anne Cromwell^[10]
Sibling: Henry Cromwell, Bridget Cromwell, Frances Cromwell, Elizabeth Claypole, Mary Cromwell, Countess Fauconberg^[32]^[33]^[34]^[35]^[36]
Languages spoken, written or signed: English^[29]
Described by source: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1947)^[25]^[26]^[27]^[28]
Different from: Richard Cromwell^[31]
Family name: Cromwell^[23]
Given name: Richard^[24]
Name in native language: Richard Cromwell^[30]
Noble title: Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland^[21]
P14608: 118670603

Show all 25 facts +1

Place of burial: Church of All Saints, Hursley^[6]

🏷️ Also known as

en Richard Cromwell ar ريتشارد كرومويل da Richard Cromwell 1658-1659 el Πεσμένο Πουλί el Ρίτσαρντ Κρόμβελ el Ρίτσαρντ Κρόμγουελ es Ricardo Cromwell fa ریچارد کرامول fi Britannian Richard Cromwell he ריצ'ארד קרומוול he ריצ'רד קרומוול hi रिचर्ड क्रामवेल ja リチャード・クロムウェル ko 리처드 크롬웰 ru Кромвель Р. ru Кромвель Ричард ru Ричард Кромвель sv Cromwell th ริชาร์ด ครอมเวลล์ uk Річард Кромвель

🔖 Identifiers · 70

ISNI: 0000000120991559
VIAF cluster ID: 12416181
Library of Congress authority ID: n85053942
GND ID: 118670603
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 12525730s
Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts person ID: 6849
British Museum person or institution ID: 135228
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: cromwell-richard
CANTIC ID: 981058614657406706
CERL Thesaurus ID: cnp01348935
Cambridge Alumni Database ID: CRML656R
Canadiana Name Authority ID: ncf10374395

Show all 70 identifiers +58

DDB person (GND) ID: 118670603
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 118670603
Enciclopedia Galega Universal ID: 107886
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/Richard-Cromwell
FAST ID: 148573
Fandom article ID: cs.historika:Richard_Cromwell
Find a Grave memorial ID: 8571903
Freebase ID: /m/0ck3w
GeneaStar person ID: cromwellr
Geni.com profile ID: 6000000000076300031
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID: richard-cromwell
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID (former scheme): 0020761
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: Richard_Cromwell
IdRef ID: 034507590
KBR person ID: 14159317
Kalliope-Verbund (GND) ID: 118670603
Kindred Britain ID: I3886
LBT person ID: RiCromw1712
Lex ID: Richard_Cromwell
Libris-URI: b8nrwh6v2ckp9ck
LittleSis people ID: 183122
Museum-digital ID: 131527
NE.se ID: richard-cromwell
NLP ID: a0000001235363
NUKAT ID: n2018169208
National Historical Museums of Sweden ID: person/A1AF5A94-FB1A-4F3E-A582-7DE8980FCD9A
National Library of Ireland ID: vtls000276995
National Library of Israel ID (old): 000468217
National Library of Israel J9U ID: 987007272008505171
National Library of Lithuania ID: LNB:ZlN;=Bq
National Library of Poland MMS ID: 9810699346205606
National Library of Wales Authority ID: cromwell-richard-1626-1712
National Portrait Gallery (London) person ID: mp01117
National Virtual Library of India ID: 611662
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 070417415
Notable Names Database ID: 298/000096010
Online PWN Encyclopedia ID: 3888223
Open Library ID: OL4770829A
Open Plaques subject ID: 6644
Our Campaigns candidate ID: 571795
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ID: 6768
Oxford Reference overview ID: 20110803095649119
Proleksis enciklopedija ID: 16219
SBN author ID: BVEV091909
SELIBR ID: 314426
SNAC ARK ID: w6sx6zdh
SNARC ID: Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Six Degrees of Francis Bacon ID: 10003060
Swedish Open Cultural Heritage URI: LSH/agents/45972
The Peerage person ID: p1955.htm#i19550
Treccani ID: richard-cromwell
Treccani's Dizionario di Storia ID: richard-cromwell
Treccani's Enciclopedia Italiana ID: richard-cromwell
UK National Archives ID: F38989
WeRelate person ID: Richard_Cromwell_(8)
WikiTree person ID: Cromwell-36
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PBJgmQ88cMDDkYWxxcrX68C
Yale LUX ID: person/441b931d-9b1f-4862-81fc-244c978b018e

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🔗 Connections

Country of citizenship 2

Kingdom of Great Britain, Commonwealth of England

Described by source 2

Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, The Nuttall Encyclopædia

Parent of 2

Oliver Cromwell, Elizabeth Cromwell

← Characters 2

Cromwell, To Kill a King

Different from 1

Richard Cromwell

Educated at 1

Felsted School

Father 1

Oliver Cromwell

Given name 1

Richard

Instance of 1

human

Languages spoken, written or signed 1

English

Member of political party 1

Roundhead

Mother 1

Elizabeth Cromwell

Occupation 1

politician

Place of birth 1

Huntingdon

Place of death 1

Cheshunt

Position held 1

Lord Protector

SNARC ID 1

Anna-Lena Grönefeld

Sex or gender 1

male

Sibling 1

Henry Cromwell

Siblings 1

Henry Cromwell

← Different from 1

Richard Cromwell

← FactGrid item ID 1

Fordoun

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Richard Cromwell was born on October 4, 1626^[1], in Huntingdon^[2]. He died on July 12, 1712^[3], in Cheshunt^[4]. He worked as a politician^[5].

FAQs

Where was Richard Cromwell born?

Richard Cromwell was born in Huntingdon^[2].

Where did Richard Cromwell die?

Richard Cromwell passed away in Cheshunt^[4].

Who were Richard Cromwell's parents?

Richard Cromwell's father was Oliver Cromwell^[7]. Richard Cromwell's mother was Elizabeth Cromwell^[8].

Who was Richard Cromwell married to?

Richard Cromwell's spouses include Dorothy Maijor^[9].

What did Richard Cromwell do for work?

Richard Cromwell worked as a politician^[5].

Where did Richard Cromwell go to school?

Richard Cromwell was educated at Felsted School^[19].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Richard Cromwell — place of birth (P19): Huntingdon. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Richard Cromwell — place of death (P20): Cheshunt. Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2026-10-18. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Richard Cromwell — sex or gender (P21): male. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Richard Cromwell — father (P22): Oliver Cromwell. Kindred Britain. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Richard Cromwell — mother (P25): Elizabeth Cromwell. Kindred Britain. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Richard Cromwell — spouse (P26): Dorothy Maijor. Kindred Britain. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Richard Cromwell — country of citizenship (P27): Kingdom of Great Britain. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Richard Cromwell — country of citizenship (P27): Commonwealth of England. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Richard Cromwell — position held (P39): Member of Parliament in the Parliament of England. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Richard Cromwell — position held (P39): Lord Protector. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Richard Cromwell — position held (P39): Member of the Second Protectorate Parliament. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Richard Cromwell — position held (P39): Member of the First Protectorate Parliament. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Richard Cromwell — position held (P39): Member of the 1648-53 Parliament. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Richard Cromwell — position held (P39): Chancellor of the University of Oxford. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Richard Cromwell — child (P40): Anne Cromwell. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Richard Cromwell — educated at (P69): Felsted School. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Richard Cromwell — noble title (P97): Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ Richard Cromwell — member of political party (P102): Roundhead. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Richard Cromwell — occupation (P106): politician. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Richard Cromwell — place of burial (P119): Church of All Saints, Hursley. wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ Richard Cromwell — date of birth (P569): October 4, 1626. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Richard Cromwell — date of death (P570): July 12, 1712. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ Richard Cromwell — family name (P734): Cromwell. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ Richard Cromwell — given name (P735): Richard. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ Richard Cromwell — described by source (P1343): Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900. wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ Richard Cromwell — described by source (P1343): The Nuttall Encyclopædia. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ Richard Cromwell — described by source (P1343): Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ Richard Cromwell — described by source (P1343): Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1947). wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ Richard Cromwell — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): English. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ Richard Cromwell — name in native language (P1559): Richard Cromwell. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ Richard Cromwell — different from (P1889): Richard Cromwell. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ Richard Cromwell — sibling (P3373): Henry Cromwell. wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ Richard Cromwell — sibling (P3373): Bridget Cromwell. Kindred Britain. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ Richard Cromwell — sibling (P3373): Frances Cromwell. Kindred Britain. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ Richard Cromwell — sibling (P3373): Elizabeth Claypole. wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ Richard Cromwell — sibling (P3373): Mary Cromwell, Countess Fauconberg. wikidata.org.

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APA

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BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_richard-cromwell_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Richard Cromwell}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/richard-cromwell}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-07}}

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

21d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Wikipedia languages → ['an', 'ar', 'arz', 'be', 'bg', 'ca', 'commons', 'cs', 'da', 'de', 'el', 'en', '

Claims rich → —

"/* wbsetclaim-update-references:1||1|1 */ Place of death: Cheshunt, source for place of death from Store norske leksikon ([[Wikidata:Requests for permissions/Bot/OKA bot 2|OKA bot task 2]])"
18w ago · Printstream · 2026-07-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗

P14608 → 118670603

"/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14608: 118670603, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1783130387391"
25w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗

CERL Thesaurus ID → cnp01348935

"/* wbremoveclaims-remove:1| */ CERL Thesaurus ID: cnp00397787, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/257929|batch #257929]]"

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Richard Cromwell

Facts

Summary

FAQs

Where was Richard Cromwell born?

Where did Richard Cromwell die?

Who were Richard Cromwell's parents?

Who was Richard Cromwell married to?

What did Richard Cromwell do for work?

Where did Richard Cromwell go to school?

Related Entities

References

Direct Wikidata claims

📑 Cite this page

Edit History