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 (1854-02-28)February 28, 1854 County Sligo, Ireland
Died	March 1, 1923(1923-03-01) (aged 69) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, New York
Political party	Democratic Party
Signature

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. 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.^[1] Through his personal relationship with the Churchill family, he was an important, early influence on British statesman Winston Churchill.^[2]