Cochran, William Thad (1937-2019), was a United States senator from 1978 to 2018. A Republican from Mississippi , he wrote a number of important farm bills. He also became known for his ability to work with both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.
Cochran was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, on Dec. 7, 1937. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi in 1959. From 1959 to 1961, he served in the U.S. Navy. Cochran studied international law at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, in 1963 and 1964. He received a law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1965 and then began to practice law in Jackson, Mississippi.
In 1972, Cochran was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives . He was reelected in 1974 and 1976. In November 1978, Cochran won his first election to the U.S. Senate. In December 1978, Mississippi Governor Cliff Finch appointed Cochran to the Senate to finish the term of Senator James O. Eastland , who had resigned. Eastland’s term ended in January 1979, and Cochran then began to serve his first six-year term. Cochran won reelection in 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. As a senator, Cochran supported measures to reduce government spending and protect waterfowl habitat. He served as chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee and the Appropriations Committee.
In April 2018, Cochran, citing concerns about his health, resigned from the Senate. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant appointed Cindy Hyde-Smith , the state agriculture and commerce commissioner, to fill Cochran’s Senate seat until a special election was held later that year. Cochran died on May 30, 2019.
