44 KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



tlu'ie were none whose service was longer or more f?ratefully to be re- 

 nu inbeied, nor ])erliai)s any to whom the Institution owes more than 

 to Mr. Cox. 



Tile lepird in wiiitli his brotlier Regents held Mr. Cox's accuracy of 

 cliaratiterization and liis instinctive recognition of all that is worthiest 

 of honor in other men may be inferred from the eulogies which he was 

 recjuested by them to deliver among which may be particularly men- 

 tioned the one at the commemoration m honor of i'rofessor Henry in 

 tiie House of liepiesentatives. But though these only illustrate a very 

 small part of his services as a Regent, your committee are led by their 

 consideration to recall that his first act upon your Board was the prej)- 

 aiation and <lelivery of au address at the request of the Regents on their 

 late (;olleague, Stephen A. Douglas, and that ou this occasion he used 

 words which your committee permit themselves to adopt, as beiug in 

 their view singularly characteristic of Mr. Cox himself: 



'• It w;is not merely as one of its Regents that he showed himself the 

 true and enlightened friend of objects kindred to those of this estab- 

 lishment; he ever advocated measures which served to advance knowl- 

 edge aiicl promote the progress of humanity. The enouragement of 

 the tine arts, the rewarding of discoverers and inventors, the organiza- 

 tion of exploring expeditions, as well as the general diffusion of educa- 

 tion, were all objects of his special regard." 



In view of these facts it is — 



Bcsolved, That in the death of Hon. Samuel Sullivan Cox the Smith- 

 sonian Institution has suffered the irreparable loss of along-tried friend, 

 the IJoard of Regents of a most valued associate and active member dur- 

 ing litteen years of service, and the country of one of its most distin- 

 guished citizens. 



RcHolved^ That the Board of Regents desire to express their deep 

 sympathy with the bereaved family of the deceased, and that a copy 

 of these resolutions be transmitted to the widow of their late associate. 



Mr. Cox was descended from a long line of distinguished ancestors. 

 His father, Hon. Ezekiel Taylor Cox, who moved from New Jersey 

 to Zanesville early in the century, held the positiou of State senator 

 and clerk of the supremo court of Ohio; his grandfather, General 

 James Cox, was an ofticer in the Revolution, speaker of the New Jersey 

 assembly, and member of Congress at the time of his death; his great- 

 grandfather. Judge Joseph Cox, was a distinguished man of liis time, 

 as were his great-great-grandfather, James Cox, and his great great- 

 great-grandfather, Thomas Cox, one of the original proprietors of the 

 l)rovin(!e of East New Jersey. 



Upon the completion of a classical course Mr. Cox studied law, and at 

 theage of twenty-five, turning his attention to journalism, wasthe editor 

 of the Columbia Statesman; at twenty-nine he was the chairman of 

 the committee of the Democratic party of Ohio. When scarcely more 

 than thirty he was offered an appointment as secretary of legation to 

 Croat Britain, but declined the honor, though he afterwards accepted 

 a similar jmsition and represented the United States at Peru. At 

 thirty two he was elected to Congress and continued as a member of 

 that body, almost without interruption, for a i)ei iod of over thirty years. 

 He was elected Speaker pro tempore of the House of Representatives 



