John Hampden (1653–1696)

For other men with the same name, see John Hampden (disambiguation).
John Hampden, c. 1690

John Hampden (21 March 1653 – 12 December 1696), the second son of Richard Hampden, and grandson of Ship money tax protestor John Hampden, returned to England after residing for about two years in France, and joined himself to William Russell and Algernon Sidney and the party opposed to the arbitrary government of Charles II. With Russell and Sidney he was arrested in 1683 for alleged complicity in the Rye House Plot, but more fortunate than his colleagues his life was spared, although as he was unable to pay the fine of £40,000 which was imposed upon him he remained in prison. Then in 1685, after the failure of Monmouth's rising, Hampden was again brought to trial, and on a charge of high treason was condemned to death. But the sentence was not carried out, and having paid £6000 he was set at liberty. In the Convention Parliament of 1689 he represented Wendover, but in the subsequent parliaments he failed to secure a seat. It was Hampden who in 1689 coined the phrase "Glorious Revolution".[1] He died by his own hand on 12 December 1696. Hampden wrote numerous pamphlets, and Bishop Burnet described him as "one of the learnedest gentlemen I ever knew".

He married Sarah Foley (d. 1687), and had two children:

After her death, he married Anne Cornwallis and had two children:

Notes

  1. In testimony before a House of Lords committee in the fall of 1689; Schwoerer, L.G. (2004), The Revolution of 1688-89: Changing Perspectives, Cambridge U.P., 310 pages ISBN 0-521-52614-0, p. 3

References

Parliament of England
Preceded by
Sir William Bowyer, Bt
William Tyringham
Member for Buckinghamshire
1679–1681
With: Hon. Thomas Wharton
Succeeded by
Hon. Thomas Wharton
Richard Hampden
Preceded by
Richard Hampden
Edward Backwell
Member for Wendover
1681–1685
With: Edward Backwell 1681–1683
Succeeded by
Richard Hampden
John Backwell
Preceded by
Richard Hampden
John Backwell
Member for Wendover
1689–1690
With: Richard Hampden
Succeeded by
Richard Beke
John Backwell
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