Personal data
William Cochrane
about
Born 1733   Died January 20, 1766  
in Marseille, France
of Waterside

Son of James Cochrane (d. 1762)1 and Cecilia Oliphant. A second cousin of JB's mother, Euphemia, both being grandchildren of William Cochrane of Ochiltree (d. 1716). Judge Advocate for Scotland (1757-after 1762).2 

On February 21, 1763 Boswell received an anonymous and rather humorous letter, which turned out to be from Cochrane who visited him in his London lodgings on the next day. When they met on February 27, however, Boswell quickly tired of him, and described him as "affected, vulgar, and snappish". They dined together again on April 21, 1763.

    Boswell's London Journal 1762-1763

    Unless otherwise noted, the source for a dated quotation of Boswell's is generally the corresponding volume of the Yale Trade Editions of Boswell's journals.