ADVERTISEMENT

• Born: c. 1953
• Birthplace: ?
• Died: February 1957 (head injury)
• Best Known As: Mysterious 1950s Philadelphia victim

The so-called Fox Chase Boy was an unknown child found dead in 1957 in a vacant lot in the Philadelphia community of Fox Chase. The blue-eyed and blonde-haired boy was estimated to be between 3 and 5 years of age, and his bruised body was found inside a cardboard box. (Hence he is also known as "The Boy in the Box.") An autopsy showed that the boy had been dead at least two days and possibly as long as three weeks, and that he had died of head injuries. Though the death was presumed to be a homicide, the exact cause of the boy's injuries could not be determined. Among the case's many odd twists: the boy's hair had been crudely cut shortly before death or possibly afterwards. The search for the boy's identity became a huge news story of the era and a personal mission for the police detectives assigned to the case. However, the mystery was never solved and the boy has remained unidentified into the 21st century.

1887–1945, American historian and educator, b. Potsdam, N.Y. He taught at Columbia from 1912 to 1934, becoming full professor in 1927. From 1934 until his death he was president of Union College and chancellor of Union Univ. His writings include The Decline of Aristocracy in the Politics of New York (1919, repr. 1971); a biography of the historian Herbert L. Osgood, his father-in-law (1924); and Yankees and Yorkers (1940). Fox was a leader of research in social history and with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr., was editor of the excellent “A History of American Life” series. The Completion of Independence, 1790–1830, (1944, repr. 1971), Vol. V in the series, was written by John A. Krout and Fox.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)