Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Zephram Cochrane
2. Novel Background
Thanks to the novelisation of First Contact among others, fans can get an even more in depth look at Zephram Cochrane.
The reference work Federation: The First 150 Years notes his parents as Jesse and Hilde Cochrane who were both teachers and that young Cochrane was initially a military contractor before World War III. It also indicates that the missile site in Bozeman was purposely erased from maps to ensure that Cochrane's work on the warp engine was kept a secret.
More interesting and directly related to his character is the note in the First Contact novelisation that Cochrane was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. Receiving an implant, Zephram is told that this needs to be changed every decade however world events conspire against him and this doesn't happen. The novel goes on to explain that Cochrane's alcoholism is a result of him attempting to self-medicate his condition.
One conflicting point around Cochrane is whether he crystallised lithium for the warp reactor as noted in William Shatner's Preserver novel or located a source of dilithium deep within the Earth as suggested by Star Trek science advisor Andre Bormandis. However, neither of these theories has ever been expanded upon or explained in canon.