John Hampden

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	c. June 1595 London, England
Died	24 June 1643(1643-06-24) (aged 48) Thame, Oxfordshire
Resting place	Great Hampden
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	Politician, military officer
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 politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of the Five Members whom Charles I of England tried to arrest in January 1642, a significant step in the outbreak of fighting in August. All five are commemorated at the State Opening of Parliament each year.

When the war began in August 1642, Hampden raised an infantry regiment for the Parliamentarian cause. He died of wounds received at the Battle of Chalgrove Field on 18 June 1643. His loss was viewed as a significant loss by his colleagues, largely because he was one of the few able to bridge divisions between the different Parliamentarian factions.

His early death also meant Hampden avoided the ideological splits that would ultimately lead to the execution of Charles I in January 1649, and establishment of the Commonwealth of England. 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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