John Northampton was a reformist Lord Mayor of London in 1381 and 1382, during dissension in favor of reform of its Common Council in the early years of Richard II's reign. When the oligarchic leaders of London were able to engineer the overthrow of his faction, even the book of records of reform legislation was burned. The mob politics of such radical movements increased the uneasiness of the great about allowing popular participation in government.
He had also served as Sheriff of London in 1377.[1]