James Pattison Cockburn was born into a military family and received his military training at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. There, he received training in drawing which was related to the skills required for topography.

Cockburn had a long career in the military and retired with the rank of Major-General

Major-General (United Kingdom)

Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...

. Throughout his career which took him to many ports of call, he sketched and produced a steady flow of books of travel

Travel literature

Travel literature is travel writing of literary value. Travel literature typically records the experiences of an author touring a place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary. Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or...

 which he illustrated. These include 'A Voyage to Cadiz

Cádiz

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

 and Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

,' with 30 coloured plates, published in 1815; 'Swiss Scenery,' with 62 plates, in 1820; 'The Route of the Simplon

Simplon

Simplon is the name of a region in the Alps. It can refer specifically to:* Simplon Pass and Tunnel* Simplon , a former French département corresponding with modern Valais, Switzerland* Simplon, Valais, a Swiss municipality...

,' in 1822; 'The Valley of Aosta

Aosta

Aosta is the principal city of the bilingual Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel, at the confluence of the Buthier and the Dora Baltea, and at the junction of the Great and Little St. Bernard routes...

,' in 1823 ; and 'Pompeii

Pompeii

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...

 Illustrated,' in folio, in 1827.

Cockburn finished his career as the director of the laboratory of the Royal Arsenal

Royal Arsenal

The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.-Early history:The Warren...

 at Woolwich

Woolwich

Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

where he died. His body of work is large and has yet to be reconstructed in a comprehensive manner for more in-depth study.