James McMahon Cox Jr. (June 27, 1903 – October 27, 1974), was an American businessman who became the chairman of

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 ...

and Cox Broadcasting Corporation after his father

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 ...

died in 1957. His charitable foundation supported causes including the Cox International Center (James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research) at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

which promotes training and research for journalists internationally. Born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

, Cox graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in 1928 and joined the ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximatel ...

'' as a reporter, later becoming general manager and assistant publisher of the paper. After his father died in 1957 he took over leadership of the Cox business and initiated a series of acquisitions beginning with three small cable systems in rural Pennsylvania in 1962, setting course for the company to become a "cable-TV empire". In 1968 he bought

Manheim Auctions Manheim, Inc. is an automobile auction company and the world's largest wholesale auto auction, based on trade volume with 145 auctions located in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. As a subsidiary of Cox Automotive, a subsidiary of priv ...

, a wholesale used car auction business. When he died in 1974 leadership of the company transferred to his two sisters: Barbara Cox Anthony and

Anne Cox Chambers Anne Beau Cox Chambers (December 1, 1919 – January 31, 2020) was an American media proprietor, diplomat, and philanthropist who served as United States Ambassador to Belgium from 1977 to 1981. She co-owned the family company Cox Enterprises, ...

References

1903 births 1974 deaths American media executives Cox family People from Dayton, Ohio Yale University alumni Dayton Daily News {{US-CEO-stub