John Hampden

John Hampden (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. His death on 18 June 1643 after being wounded in the Battle of Chalgrove Field was considered a significant loss, largely because Hampden acted as a bridge between the different Parliamentarian factions.

His early death meant Hampden avoided the ideological splits that led 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. Prior to the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were among those who referenced him to justify their cause. Provided by Wikipedia