John Cochrane (merchant)
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John Hyndford Cochrane (3 July 1750 – 21 November 1801) was a wealthy merchant and author from a notable Scottish aristocratic family. John Cochrane was born in 1750, the second living son of Thomas Cochrane and Jane Stuart. His father was serving as a Commissioner of the Excise for Scotland at the time, but unexpectedly inherited the title of
Earl of Dundonald Earl of Dundonald is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1669 for the Scottish soldier and politician William Cochrane, 1st Lord Cochrane of Dundonald, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Cochrane of Paisley and Ochiltr ...
in 1758 on the death of his younger cousin William, the 7th Earl. John Cochrane was sent to India at the age of 16, obtaining an appointment as a clerk or
Writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
due to the influence of his uncles Andrew Stuart and James Stuart. From 1779 to 1783, Cochrane acted as a deputy paymaster in British North America. In May 1783, Cochrane was sued by General Haldimand for refusing to sue merchants himself for amounts owed the Crown for bills of exchange; Cochrane and the merchants lost in the provincial courts, a painful loss which demonstrated to the merchants the need for a better legal system in Quebec. From 1790 to 1792, Cochrane held the contract for victualling the British fleet in India. In 1792, he signed over the contract to his brother
Basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...
, returning to London to be his brother's agent there. In 1793 Cochrane was appointed as Deputy Commissary for North Britain.


Personal life

In addition to his fellow
nabob A nabob is a conspicuously wealthy man deriving his fortune in the east, especially in India during the 18th century with the privately held East India Company. Etymology ''Nabob'' is an Anglo-Indian term that came to English from Urdu, poss ...
Basil, John Cochrane's siblings included Archibald (1748–1831), the eldest son and 9th Earl of Dundonald; Admiral
Alexander Cochrane Admiral Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane, GCB (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admi ...
(1758–1832); George, a soldier and MP; and
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
(1767–1833), an adventurer and MP who was disgraced in the
Great Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814 The Great Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814 was a hoax or fraud centered on false information about the Napoleonic Wars, affecting the London Stock Exchange in 1814. The du Bourg hoax On the morning of Monday, 21 February 1814, a uniformed man call ...
. The Earl of St. Vincent,
Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...
, wrote of the Cochrane brothers in 1806, "The Cochranes are not to be trusted out of sight, they are all mad, romantic, money-getting and not truth-telling—and there is not a single exception in any part of the family." Cochrane reputedly had at least three illegitimate children. With Geneviève Dulan in Quebec he had Admiral Nathaniel Day Cochrane (1780–1844) and Angelica Cochrane (1782–1834); he also sired John Cochrane (1798–1878), a notable lawyer in India and chess player. Cochrane married Selina Fitzroy Birch (born c. 1769) on 7 May 1800; Selina and an infant son died a month before Cochrane the following year. A portrait of Cochrane exists, by portraitist
Lemuel Francis Abbott Lemuel "Francis" Abbott (1760/61 – 5 December 1803) was an English Portrait painting, portrait painter, famous for his painting of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (currently hanging in the Terracotta Room of number 10 Downing Street) and fo ...
.ArtNet listing for Abbott portrait of Cochrane
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Publications

Cochrane wrote several long pamphlets on subjects of interest to him: * ''Examination of the Plans Proposed for the East India Company's Shipping; the Great Importance of Adopting a Proper System Explained; and a Plan Suggested for Making the Ships Employed in the Commerce with Asia, Beneficial Both to the State and to the East India Company'' - London, John Stockdale, 1795 * ''The Seaman's Guide: Shewing how to Live Comfortably at Sea. Containing, Among Other Particulars, Complete Directions for Baking Bread, ... Recommended Also to Public Bakers, as Well as to Private Housekeepers'' - J. Murray and S. Highley, 1797.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cochrane, John 1750 births 1801 deaths 18th-century Scottish merchants Scottish civil servants Scottish businesspeople British East India Company civil servants
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
Younger sons of earls