Brown, John, 1757-1837

John Brown (September 12, 1757 – August 29, 1837) was an American lawyer and statesman who participated in the development and formation of the State of Kentucky after the American Revolutionary War. Brown represented Virginia in the Continental Congress from 1787 to 1788 and the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789 to 1792. While in Congress, he introduced the bill granting Statehood to Kentucky. Once that was accomplished, he was elected by the new state legislature as a U.S. Senator for Kentucky. From 1803 to 1804, Brown served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate.

Born in Augusta County in the Colony of Virginia, he was educated at his father's Liberty Hall Academy (now Washington and Lee University), and then at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). His studies at Princeton were halted, temporarily, as a result of the approach of English troops during the American Revolutionary War. In 1778, Brown enrolled at The College of William & Mary where he studied law. In the fall of 1780, his studies were again interrupted by the War and the arrival of the British forces to the city. Brown continued to read the law while working in the office of Thomas Jefferson near Charlottesville, Virginia. Brown became politically active after being admitted to the bar. He was elected to the Virginia state Senate where he served from 1783 to 1788. The Virginia legislature sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1788. When the U.S. Constitution became effective, Brown was twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1789 to 1792.

As a Congressman representing Virginia, Brown introduced the petition for Kentucky Statehood. When Kentucky became a state in 1792, he resigned from the House on June 1, 1792. On June 18, the Kentucky legislature elected him to the United States Senate (as was the practice then) for a term ending in 1793. He was re-elected twice and served until 1805. He was President pro tem during the Eighth Congress. During Brown's Senate service, he moved to Frankfort, Kentucky, the capital of the state. In 1805, Brown was defeated for re-election to the Senate and retired to his home, Liberty Hall. He died in Lexington, Kentucky and was brought to Frankfort for burial. In 1847, he was re-interred in the Frankfort Cemetery.