William Wesley Cox was a Presidential, Vice Presidential, and perennial U.S. Senate candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America

Socialist Labor Party of America

The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...

 (SLP).

Cox was born in Illinois, later moving to Missouri. He was the Missouri state chairman of the SLP, and was an interior decorator by profession. He was an agnostic and member of the American Civil Liberties Union

American Civil Liberties Union

The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...

.

After serving as SLP vice-presidential candidate in 1904, Cox was nominated by the SLP for President in 1920, winning 31,084 votes. He ran in many elections, and his last attempt at office was in 1944, running for the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 seat in Missouri, at the age of 79. Cox died of an apoplexy

Apoplexy

Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...

four years later on October 29, 1948, at the age of 83.