Sir Charles Sedley

Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet (March 1639 – 20 August 1701) was a British nobleman dramatist, and politician. He is chiefly remembered for his sharp wit and notorious profligacy, which made him a prominent figure in Restoration society. Sedley wrote plays, poetry, and essays, and his flamboyant lifestyle and literary output earned him both admiration and scandal during his lifetime.

He was the son of Sir John Sedley, 2nd Baronet, of Aylesford in Kent, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Savile. The Sedleys (also sometimes spelt Sidley) had been prominent in Kent since at least 1337. Sedley's grandfather, William Sedley, was knighted in 1605 and created a baronet in 1611. He was the founder of the Sidleian Lectures of Natural Philosophy at Oxford.

Sedley was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, but left without taking a degree. There his tutor was the poet Walter Pope. The second surviving son of Sir John Sedley and Elizabeth, William, succeeded to the baronetcy in 1645.