Edward William Cox

Edward William Cox
Occupation	Lawyer, psychical researcher, writer

Edward William Cox (1809–1879) was an English lawyer and legal writer, who was also a successful publisher. He has been described as "the greatest entrepreneur of 'class' journalism".

Cox was born in Taunton, the son of William Cox, a manufacturer and Harriet, daughter of William Upcott of Exeter. He became a solicitor in Taunton, and in 1836 established a local newspaper there, the Somerset County Gazette. He was called to the bar in 1843, joined the Western Circuit, and sold the title.

Cox moved to London to pursue his career as a barrister. His periodicals, reports and textbooks led to him being raised to the dignity of serjeant at law in 1868 – rather than his modest practice as a lawyer.

He held various significant legal appointments – Recorder of Helston and Falmouth 1857–1868 which he resigned when gaining the more important appointment as Recorder of Portsmouth. In 1870 he became Deputy Assistant Judge of the Middlesex Sessions, a position he continued to discharge until his death.

Around the time he was called to the bar, Cox founded the weekly Law Times which he conducted for nearly 25 years. He also founded or transformed the English journals The Field, bought cheaply from Benjamin Nottingham Webster,and the Exchange & Mart; also The Queen, founded by Samuel Beeton and bought by Cox in 1862, merged in 1863 with Ladies' Paper, and edited by Elizabeth Lowe under Horace Cox (his nephew), and the County Courts' Chronicle. An enduring publication was Crockford's Clerical Directory, started in 1858, although whether it was really his creation or that of his junior partner, John Crockford, remains an area of debate. Cox also set up his own newspapers. Some of them, like The Critic, had only limited success, but others such as Bazaar were profitable. Long before his death, he relinquished direct control over the publishing businesses but he continued to write.

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