Sir Henry, an English statesman of the time of the Commonwealth, was the son of Sir Henry Vane, secretary of state under Charles I. He was born in 1612, at his father's seat of Hadlow in Kent, and educated at Westminster school and Oxford, after leaving which he spent some time in France and Geneva, strengthening the aversion he had early imbibed to the doctrines and government of the English Church. These opinions led him, on his return to England, to emigrate to Massachusetts, of which colony he was afterwards appointed governor, but becoming involved in religious dissensions there, he returned home after an absence of two years. Having been elected a member of the Long Parliament in 1640, Vane gave zealous and energetic support to the popular party, and became a leader of the Independents. He was the chief mover of the Solemn League and Covenant, and of the Self-Denying Ordinance; but he opposed the execution of the king and the usurpation of Cromwell, by whom he was imprisoned for some time in Carisbrook Castle. From this time he took no part in public affairs, except for a short period after the death of Cromwell; and after the Restoration he was arraigned for high treason, and beheaded on Tower Hill, 14th June 1662. Vane was the author of several political and religious works, and was highly esteemed by the poet Milton, who addressed one of his sonnets to him. See BRITAIN.