Anne Beau Cox Chambers (December 1, 1919 – January 31, 2020) was an American media proprietor, diplomat, and philanthropist who served as

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

from 1977 to 1981. She co-owned the family company

Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises, Inc. is a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employees and $21 billion in total revenue. Its major operating subsidiaries are Cox Communications and ...

, a privately held media empire, with her sister

Barbara Cox Anthony Barbara Blair Cox Anthony (December 8, 1922 – May 28, 2007) was the youngest daughter of James M. Cox, a Democratic governor of Ohio, newspaper publisher and broadcaster. With her sister Anne Cox Chambers and her brother James M. Cox, Jr., she ...

for 33 years. Her net worth was estimated by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' at $16.1 billion in September 2014.

Early life

Cox was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. She was the daughter of

James M. Cox James Middleton Cox (March 31, 1870 July 15, 1957) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th and 48th governor of Ohio, and a two-term U.S. Representative from Ohio. As the Democratic nominee for President of the United S ...

, a newspaper publisher and politician who was the 1920 Democratic Presidential nominee, and his second wife, Margaretta Parker Blair. She attended the Hacienda Del Sol School for Girls in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, alongside

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

’s granddaughters. She later attended

Miss Porter’s School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is an elite American private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843, and located in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from 21 states, 31 countries (with dual-citizenship and/or residence) ...

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

, Connecticut, and

Finch College Finch College was an undergraduate women's college in Manhattan, New York City. The Finch School opened as a private secondary school for girls in 1900 and became a liberal arts college in 1952. It closed in 1976. Founding Finch was founded in ...

in New York.

Career

In 1974, upon the death of their brother, James M. Cox (known as "Jim Jr."), Chambers and her sister Barbara Cox Anthony gained a controlling interest in the family company. That same year Chambers became chairwoman of Atlanta Newspapers. Anthony became chairwoman of Dayton Newspapers, while her husband, Garner Anthony, became the administrative head of Cox Enterprises, a large media company that includes newspapers, television, radio, cable television, and other businesses. In 1988 Anthony's son James Cox Kennedy became chairman and chief executive officer. Henceforth Chambers remained a close advisor concerning the daily operation of the company, serving as a director of it. Chambers was appointed ambassador to Belgium by U.S. president

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, a post she held from 1977 to 1981. She was a director of the board of

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

during the 1980s, and she was the first woman in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to serve as a bank director ( Fulton National Bank). She was also the first woman in Atlanta appointed to the board of the city's

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

Philanthropy

Chambers was a supporter of a wide range of cultural and educational charities, particularly relating to the arts and international affairs. She served on the boards of the

Atlanta Botanical Garden The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located adjacent to Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Incorporated in 1976, the garden's mission is to "develop and maintain plant collections for the purposes of displa ...

, the

Atlanta Historical Society Atlanta History Center is a history museum and research center located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. The Museum was founded in 1926 and currently consists of nine permanent, and several temporary, exhibitions. Atlanta History Cen ...

, and the

Woodruff Arts Center Woodruff Arts Center is a visual and performing arts center located in Atlanta, Georgia. The center houses three not-for-profit arts divisions on one campus. Opened in 1968, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlant ...

, as well as on the boards of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

the Pasteur Foundation ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

, and the

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

in New York. She was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 2003. In 1983, she received an honorary Doctor of Laws from

Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University is a private college in Brookhaven, Georgia. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia. History Oglethorpe University was chartered in 1834 in Mid ...

. Following her service in Belgium, she received the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

award.

High Museum of Art

Her work with the

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

began in 1965 when Chambers helped to establish the Forward Arts Foundation, a fund-raising group for the museum. In the early 1980s Chambers served as honorary chair of the fund-raising effort to construct the museum's Richard Meier–designed complex. In October 2006, the High, in collaboration with the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in Paris, France, presented the exhibition " Louvre Atlanta"; the partnership had been facilitated by Chambers. In 2005, the museum named one of the wings of its expanded facility after Chambers in recognition of her lifetime of support.

Personal life and death

Chambers was married to Louis G. Johnson with whom she had two daughters, Katherine and Margaretta. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1955, she married Robert William Chambers, with whom she had a son, James. Chambers died at her home in Atlanta on January 31, 2020, at the age of 100 due to natural causes. Congressman Carter of Georgia included a note of remembrance in the '' Congressional Record'' on February 11, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Anne Cox 1919 births 2020 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium American billionaires American centenarians American mass media owners American women ambassadors American women philanthropists Businesspeople from Atlanta Businesspeople from Dayton, Ohio Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Female billionaires Cox family Finch College alumni Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Philanthropists from Georgia (U.S. state) Philanthropists from Ohio Politicians from Atlanta Women centenarians Miss Porter's School alumni 21st-century American women