Philander Chase Knox | Biography

Philander Chase Knox (May 6, 1853 - Oct. 12, 1921), lawyer, senator, and secretary of state, the son of David S. and Rebekah (Page) Knox, was born at Brownsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. His grandfather was a Methodist Episcopal clergyman, his father was a banker. The boy attended local schools, and, in 1872, received the degree of A.B. from Mount Union College, in Ohio. While a student, he began a lasting friendship with William McKinley, then district attorney of Stark County. After three years spent in reading law in the office of H. B. Swope of Pittsburgh, he was admitted to the bar of Allegheny County in 1875. Following a brief service as assistant United States district attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania, in 1877, he formed a law partnership with James H. Reed of Pittsburgh. For twenty years, Knox devoted himself to the practice of his profession, attaining recognition...
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