Archibald Cox, the special Watergate prosecutor who was fired by the Nixon White House in the "Saturday Night Massacre" in 1973, died yesterday at his home in Brooksville, Maine.
He was 92 and died of natural causes, his wife, Phyllis, said.
Mr. Cox, a former solicitor general of the United States, was an expert on labor law and the author of several books on legal matters. He often took leaves from the faculty of Harvard Law School to serve in federal government posts. In 1980 he became chairman of Common Cause, the public affairs lobby, and held that position until 1992.
Mr. Cox took over the Watergate investigation on May 18, 1973, and was dismissed five months later on President Richard M. Nixon's orders.
The highest federal position Mr. Cox held was solicitor general, representing the government before the Supreme Court. He was appointed to the position, the third highest in the Department of Justice, by President John F. Kennedy. He had previously served as a speechwriter and adviser to Mr. Kennedy in the Senate and in his campaign for the presidency.
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