John Joseph Cochran (August 11, 1880 – March 6, 1947) was a U.S. Representative from

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. Cochran was born in Webster Groves, Missouri; his father and maternal grandparents were Irish immigrants. He attended the public schools in Webster Groves. He was employed in the editorial department of various St. Louis newspapers for many years, and served as assistant to the election commissioners of St. Louis from 1911 to 1913. In 1913 Cochran became secretary to Representative William L. Igoe 1913–1917, serving in that capacity again from 1918 to 1921. Cochran was private secretary to

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

William J. Stone William Joel Stone (May 7, 1848April 14, 1918) was a Democratic politician from Missouri who represented his state in the United States House of Representatives from 1885 to 1891, and in the U.S. Senate from 1903 until his death; he also served ...

and clerk to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

in 1917 and 1918. Cochran studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1921 at St. Louis, Missouri, but did not engage in extensive practice. From 1921 through 1926 he served as secretary to Representative

Harry B. Hawes Harry Bartow Hawes (November 15, 1869 – July 31, 1947) was an American lawyer, conservationist, and politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House and Senate from Missouri. He is best known for the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act, ...

. Cochran was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-ninth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by Hawes' resignation, and at the same time was elected to the

Seventieth Congress The 70th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1927 ...

. Cochran was reelected to the

Seventy-first Congress The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislature of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929, to Ma ...

Seventy-second Congress The 72nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931 ...

, and

Seventy-third Congress The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...

. Cochran did not seek renomination in 1934, but ran unsuccessfully against Harry S. Truman for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator. Subsequently, Cochran was nominated by convention and elected to the

Seventy-fourth Congress The 74th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1935, ...

, and reelected to the Seventy-fifth and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from November 2, 1926, to January 3, 1947. Cochran served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments (Seventy-second through Seventy-sixth Congresses), and the Committee on Accounts (Seventy-sixth through

Seventy-ninth Congress The 79th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1945, ...

es). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1946 to the

Eightieth Congress The 80th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947, ...

. Cochran died in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 6, 1947, and was interred in Calvary Cemetery. The John Cochran Veterans Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo is named in his behalf.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cochran, John Joseph 1880 births 1947 deaths 20th-century American politicians American people of Irish descent People from Webster Groves, Missouri Politicians from St. Louis United States congressional aides Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri