Oliver Cromwell was a pretty rocking dude. After a stint in Parliament and an extremely successful career killing foreigners in the English army, Oliver got his act together and beheaded King Charles I in 1648. I'd like to think Cromwell was a man who took matters into his own hands and personally wielded the axe.


They both look surprisingly stoic, considering.

After taking control amidst a "power vacuum" of sorts, Cromwell proceeded to conquer neighboring Scotland and Ireland, much to their dismay. Four years after assuming leadership of England, he gave Parliament the boot and had his way.


Parliamentary bootgiving ceremony: Cromwell gives the members a smooth look; guys next to him fall asleep.

To avoid the English constitution, he was crowned "Lord Protector" of England instead of "King." Thanks to a loophole in tradition, he therefore was unaccountable for his actions. It was a better name, anyway. Alas, a year later he died of a fever (wimp.) His son, Richard got kicked out two years later and the monarchy (Charles II) got back on track.

Anyway, Cromwell is cool. He's the only guy who's managed to make himself Dictator of England (which is even better than King.) He even managed to rank No. 10 on the BBC's 2002 list of "100 Great Britons."

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