Jacob D. Cox
1828 - 1900
Jacob Dolson Cox (1828-1900) was an American general, political leader, lawyer, educator, and microscopist.
He was born on October 27, 1828 in Montreal, Canada. His father, a shipbuilder of German descent (Koch),and his mother,a descendant of William Brewster, were natives of New York City.
Cox grew up in New York, studying law in an office (1842-1844) and working in a broker's office (1844-1846). He decided to go into the ministry, but by the time he graduated from Oberlin College in 185, he had given up theological studies.
From 1851 to 1853, Cox worked as the superintendent of schools in Warren, Ohio. In 1853, he was admitted to the Ohio bar, being at that time an anti-slavery Whig. In 1859, Cox was elected to the state senate. With Garfield and James Monroe (1821-1898), he formed the "Radical Triumvirate," Cox himself presenting a petition for a personal liberty law and urging woman's rights, especially larger property rights to married women.
In 1860, Governor Dennison appointed him to be one of three brigadiers general of the Ohio militia. In 1861, he enlisted in the Union army was was commissioned as a brigadier-general U.S.V. Cox had a distinguished military career and is considered to be one of the greatest "civilian" generals of the Civil War. He wrote a number of books on the history of the Civil War, including Atlanta (New York, 1882) and The March to the Sea, Franklin and Nashville (New York, 1882), both in the series Campaigns of the Civil War; The Second Battle of Bull Run, as Connected with the Fitz-John Porter Case (Cincinnati, 1882); and Military Reminiscences of the Civil War (2 vols., New York, 1900) published posthumously.
Cox was governor of Ohio in 1866-1867. In 1868 he was chairman of the Republican national convention which nominated Grant. He served as Secretary of the Interior in 1869-1870; opposed the confirmation of the treaty for the annexation of Santo Domingo; introduced the merit system in his department, and resigned in October 1870 because of pressure put on him by politicians.
He took up legal practice in Cincinnati. He was president in 1873 and until 1877 was receiver of the Toledo, Wabash, and Western Railroad. From 1877 to 1879, he was a representative in Congress.
After leaving Congress, Cox turned to academic pursuits. From 1881 to 1897, he was dean of the Cincinnati law school, and from 1885 to 1889 president of the University of Cincinnati.
Cox was a prominent microscopist, publishing papers in professional journals and serving as a fellow of the American Microscopial Society throughout the 1880s, ultimately becoming its president. He won a gold medal of honor for microphotography at the Antwerp Exposition of 1891.
He died on summer vacation in Massachusetts on the 4th of August 1900.