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Biography
Sir Michael Livesey, 1st Baronet (born 1614) was one of the regicides of King Charles I.
A Kentish baronet of Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey, Livesey was a zealous Puritan who sided with Parliament during the civil wars. He became active on the Kent county committee and was appointed Sheriff of Kent in 1643. Livesey commanded local forces in Kent, but in 1644, amid accusations of cowardice and threats of mutiny, he challenged the authority of Sir William Waller and detached his cavalry from Waller's command. A partial reconciliation was reached when their disagreement was brought before the Committee for Both Kingdoms in September 1644, and Livesey's troops rejoined Waller's army until the spring of 1645. Livesey refused to serve in the New Model Army and his regiment was taken over by Henry Ireton.
In September 1645, Livesey was elected recruiter MP for Queenborough, Kent, and emerged as a radical Independent and republican. When pro-Royalist riots broke out in Kent in December 1647, Livesey was sent to quell them. He remained in the south-east during 1648, quelling a 500-600 strong pro-Royalist riot in Horsham and harshly suppressing any further suspected Royalist activity in the region. During July, he pursued the Earl of Holland's insurgents after they attempted to capture Reigate Castle, and then defeated them at Kingston in Surrey, thus ending the threat of a Royalist uprising on the outskirts of London.
Appointed a commissioner on the High Court of Justice, Livesey was a signatory of the King's death warrant. He was an active member of the Rump Parliament, where he emerged as deeply hostile to Royalists and Papists. Like other republicans, he opposed the establishment of the Protectorate in 1653, but occupied himself with local duties. He served as High Sheriff of Kent in 1655 and 1656.
Denounced as a regicide at the Restoration, Livesey fled to the Netherlands. It was rumoured that he was attacked and killed by Royalists in 1660, but there were also reports that he was at Hanau in 1662 and at Rotterdam in 1665.