Ohio Governor Gravesites: #46 and #48 James M. Cox

James M. Cox

Born: March 31, 1870
Died: July 15, 1957
Political Party: Democrat
Term of Office: January 13, 1913 - January 11, 1915 and
                        January 8, 1917 - January 10, 1921
Buried: Woodland Cemetery Dayton, Ohio
12 of 56

James M. Cox was born in 1870 to a farming family. As a young adult he became a teacher and eventually worked his way into journalism. He would become owner and editor of the Dayton Daily News and the Springfield News, among others...

    Cox entered politics in 1908 when he was elected to a seat in the U. S. House of Representatives. After 2 terms in Congress he ran for Governor in 1912 and won. In his 1st term as Governor, Ohio under went a great deal of Progressive reforms. Ohio officially adopted direct primaries, initiative and referendum. The state passed laws that dealt with education reform, prison reform and workmen's compensation.

    Cox lost reelection in 1914 to Republican Candidate Frank B. Willis. But Cox came back in 1916 and won the election, beating Governor Willis. Cox went on to serve 2, 2 years terms. Making him the first Governor to serve 3 full terms in office. In his 2nd and 3rd terms in office, Cox had to mobilize troops in Ohio for WW1. It was also time consuming in making sure that labor disputes in factories wouldn't disrupt the manufacturing of war supplies.

In 1920, Governor Cox was picked to be the Democratic Parties Candidate for President. His running mate for Vice President was a pre polio Franklin D. Roosevelt. They ran against the Republican ticket of Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding for President and Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge for Vice President. This is the only Presidential election in which Ohio would gain a President, no matter the outcome. The Harding Coolidge ticket won the election. This made Cox the only Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate that year to never become President. When FDR ran for President in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944, Cox was there to help campaign for him.

In 1923, Cox founded the media conglomerate Cox Enterprises. Which consisted of several news papers and radio stations throughout the country. Cox Enterprises still exists today one of his daughters is a major shareholder. Cox died in 1957 at the old age of 87.

    I visited the gravesite of Governor James M. Cox in January of 2011 after visited the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Wright Patterson has an awesome collection of Presidential Air planes that I had really been wanting to see for awhile. After the Museum we headed over to Woodland Cemetery in Dayton to see the gravesite of the Wright Brothers. Governor Cox also happened to be buried there. So we paid him a visit as well.