Roger L'Estrange
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Roger L'Estrange (December 17, 1616 - December 11, 1704) was an English pamphleteer and author, and staunch defender of royalist claims. In 1644 he led a conspiracy in support of King Charles I and was sentenced to death as a spy, although after four years' imprisonment in Newgate Prison he was able to escape to the Continent, finding refuge in Holland. In 1653 he was pardoned by Oliver Cromwell.
In 1663 he began his career as a journalist, publishing a paper under the title The Public Intelligencer and taking over as chief licenser and surveyor of the press from John Birkenhead. In 1678, he helped Thomas Britton found his concert series, playing the viol at the first event. On April 13, 1681 he started another paper called The Observator, which was published until March 9, 1686 or 1687.
L'Estrange was involved in political controversy throughout his life. In 1685, He was knighted by King James II. A fierce Tory and opponent of religious toleration, L'Estrange was arrested several times for involvement in plots against William and Mary.
In addition to his work as a political pamphleteer and his journalistic writing, he was also a translator of the Greek and Latin classics, including a translation of the fables of Aesop. He died in 1704.
