David Cox

David Cox, in full Anthony David Machell Cox (8 June 1913 to 25 October 1994), was a historian and mountaineer. Born in Plymouth and raised in Devon, where he first climbed on the Dartmoor tors, he studied at Hertford College, Oxford, and spent most of his working life at University College, Oxford, as a Fellow, senior tutor and vice-master, specialising in medieval history. As a climber he was a highly proficient technical rock climber who made first ascents in Devon and Wales, including Climbers Club Direct on the Dewerstone in 1936 and a solo first ascent of Spiral Route on Craig yr Ysfa in 1938. In 1957 he joined Wilfrid Noyce on the Machapuchare expedition in Nepal, stopping a short way below the summit, and the pair made the first ascent of Singu Chuli. Polio in 1958 ended his serious climbing, and he served as President of the Alpine Club from 1971 to 1973.