William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Shortly after his death in 1219 at the age of 73, his oldest son, William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, commissioned a biography of the life of his father. Though biographers often embellish their subjects, many of the events of William's life stated there are clearly recorded elsewhere in historical records. Five of his sons succeded William as the Earl of Pembroke: William, Richard, Gilbert, Walter, and Anselm.