John Hampden (June 1595-24 June 1643) was an English politician and general who served as MP for Grampound from 1621 to 1622, for Wendover from 1624 to 1629, and for Buckinghamshire from 1640 to 1643 and as a Parliamentarian general during the English Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Chalgrove Field in 1643.
Biography[]
John Hampden was born in London, Middlesex, England in June 1595 to a well-established Buckinghamshire family. He became a Puritan while studying law in London, and he served as MP for the Cornwall rotten borough of Grampound from 1621 to 1622, before restoring parliamentary representation to Wendover and serving as its MP from 1624 to 1629. He was imprisoned by King Charles I of England for refusing to pay a forced loan, and he supported early efforts to limit the King's power. In 1640, Hampden was elected MP for Buckinghamshire, and, on 4 January 1642, he was one of the "Five Members" of Parliament whose arrest was ordered by King Charles. The five men escaped after being tipped off about King Charles' intent to arrest them for challenging his power, and, while most Parliamentarians and Royalists favored negotiations between King Charles and Parliament, both Hampden and John Pym became convinced that only a military victory could compel Charles to keep his commitments. Hampden was appointed to the Committee of Safety on the outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642, and he raised a regiment which fought at the Battle of Edgehill, after which he helped to defend London following the Battle of Brentford. On 18 June 1643, Hampden was shot twice in the shoulder at the Battle of Brentford, and his wounds became infected and he died six days later. His loss was greatly mourned by the Parliamentarians, as he was one of few Parliamentarian leaders who could keep the various factions together.