Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset

Charles Sackville, sixth Earl of Dorset, was a courtier, wit and patron of writers under Charles II and later reigns. Gilfillan notes that he was rather a patron of poets than a poet, and gives his birth as 24 January 1637.

He is remembered chiefly for the song To all you Ladies now at Land, said to have been written at sea on the eve of the Dutch naval battle of 1665, which Gilfillan prints in full.