Oliver Cromwell dies - On this day in history

Died on this day in history, 1658: Oliver Cromwell, an English military and political leader and later Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Oliver Cromwell occupies a unique place in English history. Between 1653 and 1658 Oliver Cromwell ruled the UK, with more or less the same powers as a monarch, but as he was 'Lord Protector' of the Commonwealth, he had no crown.

Cromwell is one of the most controversial figures in the history of the British Isles, considered a regicidal dictator by some historians, a military dictator by Winston Churchill, but a hero of liberty by others. His destructive Scottish and Irish campaigns also blackened his historical reputation.