James Cochrane Dobbin (1814-1857) was a United States political figure.

Dobbin was born in 1814 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1832; was admitted to the bar in 1835; served as a Member of Congress from 1845 to 1847 and in the North Carolina legislature from 1848 to 1852. From 1853 to 1857 he was Secretary of the Navy. A firm believer in a strong Navy as insurance for peace, Secretary Dobbin instituted reforms throughout the Navy, and during his service 18 of the finest ships of their class in the world were built. Under his auspices the Perry expedition to Japan was carried to a successful termination and the treaty with that country signed. In answer to President Franklin Pierce it was Secretary Dobbin who in 1853 ordered U.S. Navy Lieutenant Isaac Strain to command an U.S. Darién Exploring Expedition to map and survey the Darién Gap for a Panama Canal to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He died 4 August 1857 in Fayetteville.

This article incorporates public domain text from the Naval Historical Center.