Earle Brown was born on October 6, 1879 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Brown was raised by his mother and grandfather, John Martin, one of the founders of 1st National Bank and Northwestern Consolidated Milling company, on the family farm in Brooklyn Center. In 1920, Brown was appointed as Hennepin country sheriff; he held this position until 1929 and again from 1942 to 1946. From 1929-1932, Brown organized the newly formed Minnesota Highway Patrol. He ran for governor of Minnesota on the Republican ticket in 1932, losing to Floyd B. Olson. After the 1932 election, Brown returned to the family farm to continue breeding Belgian horses, of which he was quite skilled, winning numerous awards and prizes.
In 1949, he donated his family farm to the University of Minnesota to be used in whatever way deemed necessary by the University. His only stipulations were that funds received by the use or sale of the farm were to be used to establish a place for the agricultural short courses taught by the University, and that he would be able to stay on the property until his death. In 1959, in recognition of his devotion to the state of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota awarded Brown the Regents Award "in special recognition of his qualities as benefactor, fidelity and leadership." Earle Brown died on March 12, 1963 and his farm was sold for development, with the proceeds going towards the construction of the Earle Brown Center on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus (now known as the Continuing Education and Conference Center).
From the guide to the Earle Brown papers, 1920-1940, (University of Minnesota Libraries. University Archives [uarc])
