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James M. Cox Jr.
1903: Born on June 27 in Dayton, Ohio.
His father James Cox, a newspaper publisher, was also a U.S. congressman and governor of Ohio. In 1920 the senior Cox was the Democratic nominee for president.
1917-1920: James M. Cox Jr. attends Culver Military Academy in Indiana.
1922-1924: Attended Cheshire Academy in Connecticut.
1928: Receives Ph.B. degree from Yale University.
1920s: Cox, an aviation enthusiast at an early age, becomes a licensed pilot.
1929: Enters work with his father's newspaper, the Dayton Daily News.
1931-1938: General Manager of the Dayton Daily News.
1938-1939: Assistant Publisher of the Dayton Daily News.
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1939: Accompanies father on first trip to Atlanta after acquisition of the Atlanta Journal.
1942: Defying his father's wishes, Cox joins the navy at age 39. He is ordered into active duty in World War II, serving in the Naval Air Corps.
1945: Discharged from the Navy with the rank of Lt. Commander.
Late 1940s and 1950s: Cox returns from the war and becomes interested in the television industry. Along with director of Cox broadcasting operations J. Leonard Reinsch, Cox urges his reluctant father to purchase television stations in Atlanta in 1948 and Dayton in 1949.
1957: At the death of his father, Cox takes over the family business.
1958: Marries Betty Gage Lippitt.
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1959: Receives an honorary doctorate from Wittenberg University in Springfield Ohio.
1961: An acquaintance of several U.S. presidents, Cox plays a round of golf with John F. Kennedy, noting that JFK "could turn professional with but a little practice."
1962: Enters cable by approving the purchase of community antenna television systems in Pennsylvania for $660,000.
1964: Cox Broadcasting Corporation forms, and Cox stock is admitted for trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
1968: Appointed chairman of newly formed Cox Enterprises, Inc.
1972: Breaks "hands-off" tradition and urges Cox newspaper editors to support Richard Nixon for the presidency.
1974: Dies on October 27 at the age of 71.
