Walter Raleigh Doused by Servant, 16th Century
Supposedly, while smoking a pipe of the first tobacco brought from America, Raleigh was extinguished by a terrified servant who doused him with a pitcher of beer. Walter Raleigh (1554 - October 29, 1618) was an English aristocrat, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is most remembered for popularizing tobacco in England. In 1591, he secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, without the Queen's permission, and they were sent to the Tower of London. In 1594, Raleigh heard of a City of Gold in South America and sailed to find it. After Queen Elizabeth died (1603) he was again imprisoned in the Tower, this time for allegedly being involved in the Main Plot against King James I. In 1616 he was released to lead a second unsuccessful expedition in search of El Dorado. Raleigh returned to England and, to appease the Spanish, was arrested and beheaded, in 1618
