Thomas Childs Cochran (April 29, 1902 – May 2, 1999) was an American economic historian. He was the author of several books. He is considered a pioneer in that field.

Early life

Thomas C. Cochran was born on April 29, 1902, in Manhattan. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from New York University before obtaining his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

Cochran was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1953. Cochran taught at N.Y.U. for almost twenty-five years before joining the University of Pennsylvania in 1950, where he became Benjamin Franklin Professor of History, a position from which he retired in 1972. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1971 and also president of the American Historical Association the following year. In the mid-20th century, Cochran was one of the most significant economic historians of the United States, producing The Age of Enterprise (1961), an important work on the history of American capitalism. Throughout his career, he attempted to examine the history of business not merely as a narrowly economic topic, but also as a cultural one. He opened up new methodological approaches and areas of research in the field of economic history.

Personal life and death

Cochran was married three times. He died on May 2, 1999, at the Quadrangle Retirement Center in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

Works