Southampton, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of 1573-1624
English soldier

The son of Henry Wriothesley, the 2nd Earl, he was born in Cowdray, Sussex. He was a patron of poets, particularly of Shakespeare, who dedicated to him his Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594) and, according to some scholars, addressed the sonnets to him. He accompanied Robert, 2nd Earl of Essex, to Cadiz (1596) and the Azores (1597), incurred Queen Elizabeth I's wrath by marrying the cousin of Essex, and took part in his rebellion. He revived Richard II in order to arouse anti-monarchic feeling, and was sentenced to death, but was released by James VI and I and restored to his peerage (1603). He aided the expedition to Virginia (1605) and was a member of a number of trading companies. He was imprisoned in 1621 on charges of intrigue, and died while in charge of the English volunteer contingent helping the Dutch against Spain.

Bibliography: A L Rowse, Shakespeare's Southampton (1965)