Henry Cockburn Lord Cockburn 
Biography of Henry Cockburn Lord Cockburn
Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn (1779-1854), was Rector of the University from 1831 to 1834.
Born in Edinburgh, Cockburn was a prominent Whig lawyer who wrote for the influential Edinburgh Review and was a friend of fellow University of Edinburgh alumni Francis Jeffrey and Henry Brougham (both of whom became Rectors of the University of Glasgow). He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in 1830 and in 1834 took his seat as a judge in the Court of Session. The Cockburn Association and Edinburgh's Cockburn Street are named for him.
In the 1831 Rectorial election Cockburn defeated the University alumni John Gibson Lockhart and Joseph Hume. He stood again in 1833, against the Professor of Greek Daniel Sandford. The election was tied but the Vice-Rector refused to give his casting vote, believing Sandford to be ineligible because he was a University professor. The casting vote passed to Cockburn as the preceding Rector, and he voted himself a second term.
Cockburn took an active interest in the affairs of the University, notably in the controversies over the attempt by Professor James Mylne to dictate that he should be succeeded as professor of Moral Philosophy by Professor William Fleming.
Summary
Henry Cockburn Lord Cockburn
Author and Judge
Born 26 October 1779, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Died 29 April 1854.
University Link: Rector
Occupation categories: authors; lawyers
NNAF Reference: GB/NNAF/P154537
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Record last updated: 17th Jan 2008
Country Associations
Scotland
Place of Birth