William Lamport

William Lamport (or Lampart) (1611/1615 – 1659) was an Irish Catholic adventurer, known in Mexico as "Don Guillén de Lamport (or Lombardo) y Guzmán". He was tried by the Mexican Inquisition for sedition and executed in 1659. He claimed to be a bastard son of King Philip III of Spain and therefore the half-brother of King Philip IV.

In 1642, he tried to foment rebellion against the Spanish crown, with the aid of black and indigenous peoples, as well as creole merchants, but was denounced by a man he had hoped to recruit for his plan and arrested, languishing in the Inquisition jail for 17 years. A statue of Lamport is immediately inside the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City.

To this day, Lamport is an honored hero in Mexico, and internationally is best known as a possible inspiration for the superhero, Zorro. Provided by Wikipedia