an Irish colonial administrator and the East India Company's Governor of Bombay from 1729 to 1734. Cowan was descended from Ulster Scots Presbyterian stock, and his father, John Cowan, was an Alderman of the city of Derry. He entered the service of the East India Company some time before 1720 and retired in 1735, two years before his death. In 1721, he was involved in an unsuccessful campaign against Kanhoji Angre. His personal fortune, amassed as governor, became part of the basis of the wealth of the Stewart family for generations.
