John Hampden

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. 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. Prior to the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were among those who referenced him to justify their cause. Provided by Wikipedia

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