Life

Cochrane was the eldest son of Alexander Blair, who on his marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of William Cochrane of Cochrane, assumed the name of Cochrane. His younger brother William Cochrane

William Cochrane

William Cochrane was a Scottish MP in the British Parliament.He represented Wigtown Burghs 1708-1713.-References:...

 became first Earl of Dundonald

Earl of Dundonald

Earl of Dundonald is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.The Earldom was created in 1669 for the Scottish soldier and politician William Cochrane, 1st Earl of Dundonald, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Cochrane of Paisley and Ochiltree, with remainder to his heirs male, failing which to his...

.

He was in command of a regiment at Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 in 1640, and in the following year was implicated in the plot for seizing the chiefs of the parliamentary party. He was arrested, but after being released on bail, he joined Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 at York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 in 1642. He was sent by Charles to Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 to solicit help in men or money; he returned with the Danish ambassador, who was instructed to attempt to mediate between the king and the parliament, and was then arrested in London. Having regained his liberty he was placed by the king in command of Towcester

Towcester

Towcester , the Roman town of Lactodorum, is a small town in south Northamptonshire, England.-Etymology:Towcester comes from the Old English Tófe-ceaster. Tófe refers to the River Tove; Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa...

 in 1643. His estates were forfeited in the following year.

He was subsequently employed in raising money for the royal cause in Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, Danzig, and Poland. He was living in 1650, and probably died before the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

of 1660. His wife was a Butler of the Ormonde family.