Captain Hiram Cox (1760–1799) was a British diplomat, serving in Bengal and Burma in the 18th century. The city of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh is named after him.[1][2]

Biography

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As an officer of the East India Company, Captain Cox was appointed Superintendent of Palongkee outpost after Warren Hastings became Governor of Bengal. Captain Cox was specially mobilised to deal with a century-long conflict between Arakan refugees and local Rakhains (see Rakhine State).[3] He embarked upon the mammoth task of rehabilitating refugees in the area and made significant progress. A premature death took Captain Cox in 1799 before he could finish his work.[4] To commemorate his role in rehabilitation work, a market was established and named after him: Cox's Bazar ("Cox's Market").[5]

Cox was a member of the Asiatic Society, contributing scholarly articles on Asian culture to its journal Asiatic Researches. He is most noted for his long-debunked theory of the origin of chess as a four-player game, known as the Cox-Forbes theory.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ G. P. Ramachandra (September 1981). "Captain Hiram Cox's Mission to Burma, 1796-1798: A Case of Irrational Behaviour in Diplomacy". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 12 (2). Cambridge University Press: 433–451. doi:10.1017/S0022463400009966. JSTOR 20070440. S2CID 162684044.
  2. ^ Jerdan, William; Workman, William Ring; Arnold, Frederick; Morley, John; Goodwin, Charles Wycliffe (1842-08-07). Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, Volume 8. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  3. ^ Hiram Cox, Journal of a Residence in the Burmhan Empire, London, 1821 (reprinted Gregg International, Farnborough, England, 1971, nb, Preface, pp.vii-viii [1]).
  4. ^ The Morning Post and The Star (London), 3 March; The Morning Herald (London), 8 May; The Oracle (London), 16 June; The Star (London), 20 June 1800.
  5. ^ "Captain Hiram Cox 1760-1799. Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh". Bangladesh Unlocked (Blog). 2010-09-06. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  6. ^ Duncan Forbes (linguist) (1860). The History of Chess. Wm H Allen & Co. Retrieved 2012-12-27.