Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet (1729 – 26 July 1804) was a British politician who represented Linlithgow Burghs in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1772 to 1784. He was also a director of the East India Company.
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Family
He was a son of William Cockburn of Berwickshire and his wife and first cousin Frances Cockburn. His paternal grandparents were Sir Alexander Cockburn, 6th Baronet and his wife Mary Ancrum. His maternal grandfather was Dr James Cockburn of Jamaica.
Alexander and Dr James Cockburn were brothers. They were both sons of Sir Archibald Cockburn, 4th Baronet and his wife Marion Sinclair.
Marion Sinclair was a daughter of John Sinclair and Isabel Boyd. Her paternal grandfather was John Sinclair (d. 1649) and his wife Marion McCath .
Career
Cockburn joined the London firm of Henry Douglas, a wealthy merchant and his future father in law. He was a commissary to the Army in Germany during the Seven Years' War and appointed Commissary General in 1762, after which he returned to London and became involved in the purchase of West Indian slave plantations and in East India politics. In 1767 he was elected a Director of the East India Company (until 1769). He was re-elected in 1770 and in the following two years. In 1772 he was also elected to Parliament to represent Linlithgow, a seat he retained until 1784. He had bought the heritable position of Principal Usher of the White Rod in Scotland in 1766.