Henry Cockburn - Definition and Overview

Henry Cockburn (1779 - 1854), was a Scottish judge and biographer.

Born (probably) and educated in Edinburgh, Cockburn became a distinguished member of the Scottish Bar, and ultimately a judge. He was also one of the leaders of the Whig party in Scotland in its days of darkness prior to the Reform Act of 1832. The lifelong friend of Francis Jeffrey, he wrote Jeffrey's biography, published in 1852. His chief literary work, however, is his Memorials of his Time (1856), continued in his Journal (1874). These constitute an autobiography of the writer interspersed with notices of manners, public events, and sketches of his contemporaries, of great interest and value.

This article is originally from A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.