Archibald Cox

Archibald Cox was fired by President Richard Nixon in October 1973 during the "Saturday Night Massacre" because Cox refused to accept a compromise regarding the release of the secret White House audio tapes. Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire him, but Richardson resigned in protest, as did Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, before Solicitor General Robert Bork finally carried out the dismissal.

Appointed in May 1973, Cox rigorously investigated the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up, famously issuing a subpoena for President Nixon's secret Oval Office recordings. His aggressive pursuit of evidence and insistence that no one was above the law ultimately led to his termination by the president.

Following his dismissal, Cox returned to academic life, eventually becoming an honorary fellow and continuing his career as a respected Harvard Law professor. The public outrage over his firing ultimately forced the Nixon administration to appoint a new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who continued the investigation.

Before and after his time as Watergate Special Prosecutor, Cox was a prominent professor at Harvard Law School, where he taught generations of legal scholars. He also served as the university's solicitor general and authored several influential texts on labor law and constitutional law.