James Richard Cocke (1863 – April 12, 1900), who had been blind since infancy, was an American physician, homeopath, and a pioneer hypnotherapist.
[5]Once he had moved to Boston, he married a Mrs. Green of Springfield, Massachusetts: They did not live long together, and at a subsequent court trial it was proved that before getting a divorce Cocke married a Miss Townsend of Hartford, Conn. His second wife left him, and in the resulting litigation Cocke lost all his money, his standing as a physician, and came so near losing his mind that he was confined for a time in a city institution in Boston Harbor.
from Boston University in June 1892, "having completed the full course of study [including performing dissections], with an average percentage of 96 for the three years".
Although he studied homeopathy for a time, he made his mark as a student of hypnotism, and as a successful hypnotherapist.
He was found dead by his wife on 12 April 1900, with a pistol placed in his mouth and a bullet in the back of his head.