Fox was born John Fox in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Boston University as an undergraduate before enrolling in Boston University Law School. He gained the nickname "Just John Fox" after a professor asked him his name, to which he replied "John Fox." The professor replied by asking, "Just John Fox?" and Fox replied "Yes, just John Fox".[1] In the late 1930s, he began working for the first gubernatorial campaign of Paul A. Dever, one of his law school classmates. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy and received a Bronze Star for his service in the invasion of the Marshall Islands and Mariana Islands.[1]
In the early 1960s, he fought, ultimately successfully, for the creation of a public medical school in Massachusetts. This school is now known as the University of Massachusetts Medical School.[1] In 1974, he co-sponsored the strict gun-control Bartley-Fox Law in the Massachusetts State Legislature, along with David M. Bartley.[1]
^ abcdefg"Judge J. John Fox, 95; keyed medical school effort". Telegram & Gazette. 1999-10-06 – via ProQuest. Fox was one of the leaders in the growth and development of the University of Massachusetts, and generally is considered the father of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
