The Scottish aristocrat Thomas Urquhart (1611-1660) was a noted polymath and first translator of French Renaissance writer Francois Rabelais into English.

It is said that one of the greatest signs of genius is the ability to find humor in all situations. If that is true, then Urquhart was a genius to the extreme. When he learned the news that Charles II had been restored to the English throne, he found it so amusing that he laughed and was unable to stop. His fit of laughter ended only upon his death.