Edwin L. Cox (a.k.a. Ed Cox; October 20, 1921 – November 5, 2020) was an American businessman and philanthropist.

Early life

Edwin Lochridge Cox Sr., was born in Mena, Arkansas. He spent his first two undergraduate years at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

and received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Career

He spent his career in oil and gas exploration. He served as CEO of the Edwin L. Cox Company, an investment company. He served on the board of directors of

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...

and the

American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in production, refinement, distribution, and many other aspects of the ...

. In 1990, he was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame.

Philanthropy

He was a major donor to the Republican Party, and to the campaigns of Presidents George H. W. Bush and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. He was also a major donor to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-n ...

. He served on the board of trustees of Southern Methodist University from 1973 to 1987, including as its chairman from 1976 to 1987. The

Cox School of Business The Edwin L. Cox School of Business is an American business school, part of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. The SMU Cox School of Business is headquartered in four buildings on SMU's 210-acre main campus five miles north ...

at Southern Methodist University is named for him. He served on the trustees council of the National Gallery of Art in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Trust Fund and the board of trustees of the

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

Personal life

Cox lived in a US $40 million mansion in

Highland Park, Texas Highland Park is a town in central Dallas County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,864 in 2020. It is located between the Dallas North Tollway and U.S. Route 75 (North Central Expressway), north of downtown Dallas. Highland Park is b ...

, a wealthy enclave of Dallas. The large collection of French impressionists (

Gustave Caillebotte Gustave Caillebotte (; 19 August 1848 – 21 February 1894) was a French painter who was a member and patron of the Impressionists, although he painted in a more realistic manner than many others in the group. Caillebotte was known for his early ...

, Cézanne and

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

) compiled by Cox was auctioned off by the heirs at Christie's in 2021.

References

External links

YouTube: Cox School of Business Benefactor, Edwin L. CoxYouTube: Ed Cox 90th Birthday Party at SMU Cox School of Business
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Edwin L. People from Mena, Arkansas People from Highland Park, Texas Southern Methodist University alumni Harvard Business School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Halliburton people American Enterprise Institute Businesspeople from Arkansas Businesspeople from Texas 20th-century philanthropists 21st-century philanthropists American art collectors 1921 births 2020 deaths