   archibald cox, jr. (may 17, 1912some sources say he was born may 12, 1912. â may 29, 2004) was an american lawyer and law professor who served as u.s. solicitor general under president john f. kennedy and later as a special prosecutor during the watergate scandal. during his career, he was a pioneering expert on labor law and also an authority on constitutional law. the journal of legal studies has identified cox as one of the most cited legal scholars of the 20th century. ==early life and law career== cox was the son of archibald and frances perkins cox. his mother was the sister of maxwell perkins, an editor at the publishing house of charles scribner's sons. a native of plainfield, new jersey, cox attended the wardlaw school, and st. paul's school. he graduated from harvard college in 1934 and from harvard law school in 1937 where he was a member of phi delta phi legal fraternity. he was a clerk for u.s. judge learned hand of the u.s. court of appeals for the second circuit. after his clerkship, he joined the boston law firm of ropes, gray, best, coolidge and rugg, now known as ropes & gray. during world war ii, he was appointed to the national defense board, and then to the office of the solicitor general. after the end of world war ii, cox joined the faculty of harvard university, where he taught courses in torts and in administrative, constitutional, and labor law. he was elected a fellow of the american academy of arts and sciences in 1955. during the 1950s, he became an informal adviser and speech-writer for john f. kennedy, who was then a u.s. senator from massachusetts. cox assisted kennedy's campaign for president in 1960. ==solicitor-general o
1912_births 2004_deaths Academics_of_the_University_of_Cambridge American_legal_scholars American_legal_writers American_prosecutors Fellows_of_the_American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences Harvard_Law_School_alumni Harvard_Law_School_faculty Harvard_University_alumni Kennedy_Administration_personnel Lyndon_B._Johnson_Administration_personnel Massachusetts_Democrats Members_of_the_American_Philosophical_Society People_associated_with_the_Watergate_scandal People_from_Plainfield,_New_Jersey Presidential_Citizens_Medal_recipients St._Paul\'s_School_(Concord,_New_Hampshire)_alumni United_States_Solicitors_General