William Bourke Cockran
William B. Cochran | |
|---|---|
Cockran c. 1904 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York | |
| In office March 4, 1921 – March 1, 1923 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas F. Smith |
| Succeeded by | John J. O'Connor |
| Constituency | 16th district |
| In office February 23, 1904 – March 3, 1909 | |
| Preceded by | George B. McClellan Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Michael F. Conry |
| Constituency | 12th district |
| In office November 3, 1891 – March 3, 1895 | |
| Preceded by | Francis B. Spinola |
| Succeeded by | George B. McClellan Jr. |
| Constituency | 10th district (1891–93) 12th district (1893–95) |
| In office March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889 | |
| Preceded by | Abraham Dowdney |
| Succeeded by | Roswell P. Flower |
| Constituency | 12th district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Bourke Cockran February 28, 1854 County Sligo, Ireland |
| Died | March 1, 1923 (aged 69) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, New York |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Signature | |
.png){kind=link}
William Bourke Cockran (February 28, 1854 – March 1, 1923), commonly known as Bourke Cockran or Burke Cochran in contemporary reports, was an Irish-American attorney, Democratic Party politician and orator who represented the East Side of Manhattan in the United States House of Representatives for seven non-consecutive terms between 1887 and 1923. An outspoken proponent of progressive taxation and government intervention, Cockran frequently critiqued the unchecked nature of capitalist systems.
Although associated with the liberal and progressive reform movements, he became widely known as the leading national spokesman for the Tammany Society, the powerful Democratic Party political machine in New York. As an advocate for the gold standard, he crossed party lines to endorse William McKinley in the presidential election of 1896.
He was a leading orator of the late 19th and early 20th century, compared favorably by historians to his contemporary political rival, William Jennings Bryan, and to Edmund Burke. Through his personal relationship with the Churchill family, he was an important, early influence on British statesman Winston Churchill.