John Hampden

John Hampden MP, JP
John Hampden
Committee of Safety
In office July 1642 – June 1643  †
Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire
In office April 1640 – December 1643  †
Member of Parliament for Wendover
In office 1624–1629
Member of Parliament for Grampound
In office 1621–1622
Personal details
Born	circa June 1595 London
Died	24 June 1643(1643-06-24) (aged 48) Thame
Cause of death	Died of wounds
Resting place	Great Hampden church
Nationality	English
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Symeon (1619–1631) Letitia Knollys (1640–1643)
Relations	Oliver Cromwell;
Children	Ann (1616–1701); Elizabeth (1619–1643); John (1621–1642); William (died 1675); Ruth (1628–1687); Mary (1630–1689); Richard (1631–1695)
Parent(s)	William Hampden (1570–1597); Elizabeth Cromwell (1574–1664);
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford
Occupation	Landowner and politician
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Parliamentarians
Branch/service	Infantry
Years of service	1642–43
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Hampden’s Regiment of Foot
Battles/wars	First English Civil War Battle of Edgehill Battle of Aylesbury Battle of Brentford Siege of Reading Battle of Chalgrove Field  (DOW)

John Hampden (c. June 1595 – 24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to 'arbitrary' taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. Allied with Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was among the Five Members whose attempted arrest in January 1642 helped to spark the First English Civil War. All 5 are commemorated at the State Opening of Parliament each year.

After the war started in August 1642, Hampden had raised an infantry regiment, dying of wounds he received at the Battle of Chalgrove Field on 18 June 1643. Many supporters of Parliament considered his loss to be a tremendous blow, largely because he was one of the few MPs able to bridge divisions between its different factions.

His early death would mean Hampden would avoid the ideological splits that would ultimately lead to the Execution of Charles I in 1649, and establishment of The Protectorate. Combined with a reputation for honest, principled, and patriotic opposition to arbitrary rule, in 1841 his statue was erected in the rebuilt Palace of Westminster, representing the Parliamentarian cause.^[a] Prior to the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were among those who referenced him to justify their cause.^[1]

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