Cox, Archibald
COX, ARCHIBALD
Born May 17, 1912, in Plainsfield, New Jersey, died May 29, 2004, in Brooksville, Maine. Cox served as solicitor general during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations in the 1960s, but was perhaps best known for being fired by President Richard Nixon during Cox's investigations as special prosecutor of the Watergate scandal. Cox graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1937, and worked in the Departments of Justice and Labor during World War II. He later taught at Harvard Law School, where he was asked by John F. Kennedty to assist on Kennedy's presidential campaign. Following Kennedy's victory, Cox was named solicitor general, where he served from 1961 until 1965. In 1973, Cox was appointed special prosecutor in charge of investigating the growing Watergate scandal. His pursuit of Nixon's secret White House tapes resulted in Nixon firing him and precipitating a constitutional crisis. Following his role in the Watergate affair, Cox returned to teaching and writing.