John "Vulture" Hopkins ( 1663 – 25 April 1732) was a British merchant of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and a Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1710 to 1722. Hopkins was a London merchant who was reputedly

miser A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities, in order to hoard money or other possessions. Although the word is sometimes used loosely to characterise anyone who ...

ly and given to rapacious business practices. He stood unsuccessfully for St Ives at the 1708 general election but was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the borough at the 1710 general election and in 1713. At the 1715 general election he was elected MP for

Ilchester Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. Originally a Roman town, and later a market town, Ilchester has a rich medieval history and was a notable ...

. He was defeated when he stood at Great Bedwyn at the 1722 general election. He had an undistinguished career in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

but amassed a small fortune by speculation in the

South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

and invested it in property over several counties. Hopkins died on 25 April 1732, aged 69, and was buried at Wimbledon. On his death, unmarried, his properties were distributed amongst the male heirs of a distant relative.

References

1663 births Year of birth uncertain 1732 deaths Politicians from London Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 English merchants Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies {{England-business-bio-stub