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Lane served in the English Parliament in the late 1550s. Lane also attended Oxford University in 1554.
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Lane was serving in Queen Elizabeth I’s court. He participated in a force that suppressed a rebellion in Scotland in 1569, which lead him to gaining accolades for his military skill.
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During the early 1570s, Lane had involved himself in maritime affairs. This included a queen’s commission to seize ships during 1571.By the late 1570s/early 1580s, he was making plans and offering his services in helping England struggle with Spain.
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Lane received a commission to go to Ireland. There he helped direct the construction of forts.
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The queen recalled Lane from Ireland and he was given the objective to lead the colony that Sir Walter Raleigh was organizing to sail to Roanoke Island in Virginia. Seven ships, which had about 600 men under the command of Sir Richard Grenville, left England. They ended up at the outer banks by June. By August, the colony built a fort and were also befriending the Indians.
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On June 18 or 19, a fleet, led by Sir Francis Drake, left Roanoke. This resulted in them carrying the first English colonists back home.
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Lane provided the foreword to Thomas Harriot’s "Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia."
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His account of the colony appeared in Richard Hakluyt’s "Principal Navigations."
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Lane was back in Ireland, serving as “muster master general” and “clerk of the check of the garrison."
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Lane's physical health/weaknesses made him unfit as muster master.
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Lane died in Dublin, Ireland, during October. He was buried at St. Patrick’s Church on the 28th of that month.