William Wesley Cox (February 5, 1865 – October 29, 1948) was a presidential, vice presidential, and perennial

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP). Cox was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, later moving to

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. He was the Missouri state chairman of the SLP, and was an

interior decorator Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...

by profession. He was an agnostic and member of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

. After serving as SLP vice-presidential candidate in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

, Cox was nominated by the SLP for President in 1920, winning 31,084 votes.1920 Presidential General Election Results
, ''Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections'' (accessed 3 October 2008). He ran in many elections, and his last attempt at office was in 1944, running for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat in Missouri, at the age of 79. Cox died of an

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

four years later on October 29, 1948, at the age of 83.

References

Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians 1904 United States vice-presidential candidates 1865 births 1948 deaths Socialist Labor Party of America presidential nominees Socialist Labor Party of America vice presidential nominees Missouri socialists {{Missouri-politician-stub