Cochran, W. Bourke 1854-1923 COCKRAN, William Bourke - Biographical Information Page 1 of 1 Biographical Directory of the COCKRAN, William Bourke, (1854 - 1923) United States Congress COCKRAN, William Bourke, a Representative from New York; born in County Sligo, Ireland, February 28, 1854; was educated in France and in his native country; immigrated to the United States when seventeen years of age; teacher in a private academy and 1774 Present principal of a public school in Westchester County, N.Y.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1876 and Biography commenced practice in Mount Vernon, Research Collections N.Y.; two years later moved to New York City and continued the practice of Bibliography law; elected as a Democrat to the Fiftieth New Search Image courtesy of the Office of Congress (March 4, 1887-March 3, the Clerk, U.S. House of 1889); was not a candidate for House History Page Representatives renomination in 1888 to the Fifty-first Senate History Page Congress; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1884, 1892, 1904, and 1920; member of the Copyright Information commission to revise the judiciary article of the constitution of the State of New York in 1890; elected to the Fifty-second Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Francis B. Spinola; reelected to the Fifty-third Congress and served from November 3, 1891, to March 3, 1895; was not a candidate for renomination in 1896, because of his opposition to the free-silver platform of Bryan and Sewall and campaigned for McKinley; in 1900 returned to the Democratic Party and supported Bryan; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George B. McClellan; reelected to the Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth Congresses and served from February 23, 1904, to March 3, 1909; declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1908 to the Sixty-first Congress; resumed the practice of law in New York City; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1912 to the Sixty-third Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-seventh Congress and served from March 4, 1921, until his death in Washington, D.C., March 1, 1923; had been reelected to the Sixty-eighth Congress; interment in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Mount Hope, Westchester, N.Y. Bibliography McGurrin, James. Bourke Cockran; A Free Lance in American Politics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000575 12/29/2013 Newsletter, Page 2 Page 1 of 2 William Bourke Cockran Cockran, William Bourke. Lawyer, orator. Born in Ireland, February 28, 1854. Educated in Ireland and France. Came to the United States in 1871. Taught in private academy, later principal of a public school in Westchester County, NY. Then became a lawyer, soon becoming prominent in New York City politics. Made noteworthy speeches at Democratic National Conventions, 1884 and 1892, opposing the nomination of Cleveland. Member of Congress, 1887-89, and 1891- 95, as Democrat. In 1896 became advocate of the gold standard, and campaigned for McKinley. On issue of anti-imperialism, returned to Democratic Party, 1900, and campaigned for Bryan. Was again elected to Congress, February 23, 1904, at a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of George B. McClellan. Re-elected 1904, 1906, 1920. Died 1923. Bourke Cockran Brilliant Orator; Influence on Churchill Bourke Cockrane was a brilliant orator The following is taken from an article entitled Winston Churchill; A Study in Oratory by Thomas Montalbo. At age 21, Churchill came to the United States and met Bourke Cockran, a New York Congressman whom he described as "a remarkable man. with an enormous head, gleaming eyes and flexible countenance." But most of all, Churchill admired Cockran for the way he talked. The Congressman had a thundering voice and often spoke in heroic and rolling phrases. When Churchill asked his advice on how he could learn to spellbind an audience of thousands, Cockran told him to speak as if he were an organ, use strong words and enunciate clearly in wave-like rhythm. They corresponded for many years. Adlai Stevenson, himself a notable speaker, often reminisced about his last meeting with Churchill. "I asked him on whom or what he had based his oratorical style. Churchill replied, 'It was an American statesman who inspired me and taught me how to use every note of the human voice like an organ.' Winston then to my amazement started to quote long excerpts from Bourke Cockran's speeches of 60 years before. 'He was my model,' Churchill said. 'I learned from him how to hold thousands in thrall.'" William Bourke Cockran (Roy Jenkins, well-known British politician and statesman, died in January 2003. He was a biographer of note. 2001 he wrote a much admired life of Winston Churchill. In it he devotes about a page to Churchill's relationshi with William Bourke Cockran (born in Ballinacarrow in 1854). Below is abstracted from his book.) [When Churchill arrived in the United States in 1895] he had been met on the quays in New York by Bourke Cockran. [Cockran] had been elected to the House of Representatives in 1890 and had made a run to secure the Democratic Presidential nomination for himself rather than Glover Cleveland in 1892. He was a powerful or and a consummate politician from whom Churchill learnt much and with whom he continued to correspond long after their quayside encounter. Cockran made a profo impact upon Churchill. As late as 1932, when he got together a collection of essays entitled Thoughts and Adventures, Churchill wrote: I must record the strong impression this remarkable man made upon my untutored PictureHistory I have never seen his like, or in some respects, his equal. With his enormous head, Bourke Cockran gleaming eyes and flexible countenance, he looked uncommonly like the portrait of Charles James Fox. [Fox, 1749 - 1806, was Britain's first Foreign Secretary.] It was my fortune to hear any of his orations, but his conversation, in point, in pith, in rotundity, in antithesis and comprehension exceeded anything I have heard. http://homepage.tinet.ie/~jas/bourke_cockran.html 12/29/2013 Newsletter, Page 2 Page 2 of 2 Cockran took Churchill to stay at his Fifth Avenue residence. He gave a stimulating dinner party for Churchill on his first evening ashore, and generally entertained him SO interestingly and generously as to imbue him with a lasting sense of the excitement of New York. The electricity of New York in that mid-autumn week just before his twenty-first birthday was possibly of even greater significance for his future than the baptism of fire in Cuba. The credit for making this impact so strong upon this future honorary citizen of the United States must rest largely with Bourke Cockran. Newsletter: Page 2 Directory Back to home page http://homepage.tinet.ie/~jas/bourke_cockran.html 12/29/2013 XFINITY Connect Page 1 of 2 XFINITY Connect eppster2@comcast.ne + Font Size Re: FOA Journal Misidentified Photo From : Rebecca Cole-Will Fri, Jan 03, 2014 12:37 PM Subject : Re: FOA Journal Misidentified Photo To : aimee@friendsofacadia.org Cc : eppster2@comcast.net Aimee, Ron is correct. It is Bourque Cochran, not Sec. Lane, who does appear in another photo in our files. On Friday, January 3, 2014, wrote: Dear Ron and Becky, Thank you both for helping me to correct this mis-identification. Ron, please know that the error was mine, not the authors' (Becky and Judy Hazen Connery). I'm able to note the correction online as well as in the next issue of the Journal. However, I'm puzzled because you each have identified this man differently; he is either Secretary of the Interior Franklin Lane or William Bourke Cochran. I am unable to confirm his identity one way or the other-do you have any thoughts? I'm grateful for your attention to this detail. I hope you're saying warm on this wintery day. All best, Aimee Aimee Beal Church Communications and Outreach Coordinator Editor, Friends of Acadia Journal www.friendsofacadía.org From: Ronald & Elizabeth Epp [mailto:eppster2@comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2013 11:16 PM To: Aimee Beal Church Cc: Rebecca Cole-Will Subject: FOA Journal Misidentified Photo Dear Aimee & Becky, Today I received my fall/winter issue of the FOA Journal and at the suggestion of Jack Russell turned to the article on rehabilitating Sieur de Monts Spring. Unfortunately, the photo attributed to the ANP archives on page 10 is not that of George B. Dorr. The gentleman is William Bourke Cochran (nee Cockran), born two months after Mr. Dorr. He was an Irish orator who emigrated in 1871 to the United States, became an attorney, and then a Democrat in the U.S. Congress. The ANP copyprint list--and #535 on the CD I left with David--references this image. I believe an image is also included in the notebook of "friends and acquaintances of Mr. Dorr" that I loaned to the FOA staff over the winter. I trust that a correction will be noted in the "Notes from Friends" column of the next issue. With Best Wishes, Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 532 Sassafras Dr. Lebanon, PA 17042 717-272-0801 eppster2@comcast.net http://web.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/h/printmessage?id=173200&tz=America/New_York&xi... 1/3/2014