William Bourke Cockran , commonly known as Bourke Cockran, was an Irish-American politician. His name sometimes appears as Burke Cochran in contemporary newspaper reports. He served as a United States Representative from New York City. He switched parties four times, but is best known as a Democrat. He was an leading orator of the late 19th and early 20th century, and an important influence on British statesman Winston Churchill, who noted that Cockran was a pacifist and capitalist, who vigorously fought against socialists, silver inflationists and advocates of high tariffs.
