Governor Channing Harris Cox

Channing Harris Cox (1879-1968) was the son of Charles Edson Cox and Evelyn Mary Randall Cox and was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire. He was married to Mary Emery Young in 1915. Cox was a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Harvard Law School, and served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1911 to 1919 and served as Speaker of the House from 1915 to 1918. Cox served as Lieutenant Governor to Calvin Coolidge and continued his policies after Coolidge declined reelection to serve as governor. Eventually, Coolidge was to become president of the United States. Cox served as governor of Massachusetts from 1921 to 1925.

Cox was noted for advancing progressive labor legislation and adjusting administrative laws to reflect the changing economy, and his administration expanded upon many existing laws. Workman's compensation payments were increased, farmers and domestic workers were included as workers and made eligible for state benefits, compulsory education was extended to all children, and child labor laws were expanded. Governor Cox also responded to changes in the Massachusetts economy. He advocated policies and reforms to discourage speculative investment with borrowed funds. He instituted a corporate tax on income from real estate holdings and enabled trade unions both to sue and be sued.

Cox was active in numerous groups and served as president of the Old Colony Trust Company. He also served as a director of the United Fruit Company, the Revere Sugar Company, the First National Bank of Boston, the Boston Herald Traveler, and the Deaconness Hospital.

Governor Cox is buried on Greenwood Avenue on Milton Hill in Forest Hills Cemetery.