Cecil, Robert

1563 - Born on the 1st of June.

1588 - His appearance is described in Motley's History of the Netherlands this way: "A slight, crooked, hump-backed young gentleman, dwarfish in stature, but with a face not irregular in feature.

1590 - Salisbury was made Secretary of State following the death of Sir Francis Walsingham.

1598 - He became the leading minister after the death of his father, serving both Queen Elizabeth and King James as Secretary of State.

1599 - He fell into dispute with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and only prevailed upon the latter's poor campaign against the Irish rebels during the Nine Years War.

1603 - He was then in a position to orchestrate the succession to the throne, which he achieved with aplomb following Elizabeth's.

1603 - James I raised him to the peerage on the 20th of August as Baron Cecil,

1604 - Baron Cecil, of Essendon in the County of Rutland, before creating him Viscount Cranborne.

1605 - Earl of Salisbury.

         - Salisbury was extensively involved in events surrounding the Gunpowder Plot, as naturally would be the case with someone in his position.

         - Salisbury served as the third chancellor of Trinity College.

1612 - Died on the 24th of May.