John Hampden

John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of the Five Members whose attempted arrest in January 1642 sparked the First English Civil War. All five are commemorated at the State Opening of Parliament each year. After war began in August 1642, Hampden raised an infantry regiment, and died of wounds received at the Battle of Chalgrove Field on 18 June 1643. Many supporters of Parliament considered his loss a serious blow, largely because he was one of the few MPs able to bridge divisions between its different factions. His early death meant Hampden avoided the ideological splits that ultimately led 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. Prior to the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were among those who referenced him to justify their cause. Personal details John Hampden was born around June 1595, probably in London, eldest son of William Hampden (1570–1597), and Elizabeth Cromwell (1574–1664). The family were long-established in Buckinghamshire, and William was Member of Parliament for East Looe in 1593. After his father died in April 1597, his cousin, another William Hampden, was appointed executor but became involved in a bitter legal dispute with Elizabeth; John's younger brother, Richard (1596–1659), inherited his estates at Emmington.