Brown, Wesley E. (Wesley Ernest), 1907-2012

Wesley Ernest Brown (b. June 22, 1907, Hutchinson, Kan.–d. Jan. 23, 2012, Wichita, Kan.), U.S. District Court judge who, as of his death, was both the longest serving federal judge and the oldest federal judge still hearing cases. He was the son of Morrison (Morey) Houston Heady Brown and Julia Elizabeth Wesley Brown. He graduated from the Kansas City School of Law in 1933, and was in private practice in Hutchinson from 1933 to 1944, which included time as a county attorney for Reno County, Kansas, from 1935 to 1939. From 1942 to 1944, he was the secretary of corporation and attorney for Aircraft Woodwork Manufacturers. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946, then returned to private law practice in Hutchinson until 1958. From 1958 to 1962, he was a Referee in Bankruptcy for the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. On March 8, 1962, President John F. Kennedy nominated Brown to a seat on the Federal District Court for Kansas vacated by Delmas C. Hill. Brown was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 2, 1962, and received his commission two days later. He served as chief judge from 1971 to 1977, and assumed senior status on September 1, 1979, and continued to hear cases until his death.