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Served in the English Parliament in late 1550s and early 1560s.
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Attended Oxford University in 1554
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By 1563 Ralph Lane was serving Queen Elizabethś court.
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Lane participated in a force that suppressed a rebellion in Scotland, where he gained accolades for his military skill
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He was developing plans and offering his services in helping England struggle with Spain.
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Lane involved himself in maritime affairs which included a queen’s commission to seize ships in 1571.
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Lane received a commission to go to Ireland and direct the construction of forts.
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Seven ships with about 600 men under the overall command of Sir Richard Grenville left England.
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The queen recalled Lane from Ireland and he was given command of the colony.
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A fleet led by Sir Francis Drake left Roanoke carrying the first English colonists back home.
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Lane was back in Ireland serving as “muster master general” and “clerk of the check of the garrison” and remained in that country for the rest of his life.
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Lane’s physical weakness had made him unfit as muster master
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Lane died in Dublin, Ireland, in October 1603
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Served as governor of the first colony attempted by the English in America