Philander Chase Knox was an American lawyer and politician who served as United States Attorney General , a Senator from Pennsylvania and Secretary of State . Knox was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, one of nine children of David S. Knox and Rebecca Page Knox. His father was a banker and his mother was active in philanthropic and social organizations. He went to private primary and secondary schools attended by the affluent. Knox attended Mount Union College, whence he was graduated in 1872 with a bachelor of arts degree. Whilst there, he formed a lifelong friendship with future U.S.... President William McKinley, who was at the time a local district attorney. Knox married Lillie Smith, the daughter of Andrew Smith of the firm Smith, Sutton and Co., in 1880. He was admitted to the bar in 1875 and practiced in Pittsburgh. From 1876-1877 he was Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania and became President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1897. Knox was a leading Pittsburgh attorney in partnership with James Hay Reed, their firm being Knox and Reed .
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