Background

Brown, Addison was born on February 21, 1830 in W. Newbury, Massachusetts, United States. Son of Addison and Catharine Babson (Griffin) Brown.

Education

Bachelor of Arts, Harvard, 1852, Bachelor of Laws, 1854. Doctor of Laws, 1902.

Career

He received an A.B. from Harvard University in 1852, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1854. Admitted to the bar of New York in 1855, he was in private practice of law in New York City until 1881, when he was appointed judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Brown received a recess appointment from James A. Garfield on June 2, 1881, to a seat vacated by W.G. Choate.

He was formally nominated by Chester A. Arthur on October 12, 1881, was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 14, and received commission the same day. His judicial opinions, upward of 1800 in number, dealing largely with the law of shipping, admiralty, extradition, and bankruptcy, are included in Volumes 8 through 115 of The Federal Reporter. He retired August 30, 1901.

Judge Brown also gained a reputation as a botanist. He was one of the founders of the New York Botanical Garden (1891) and published the following works:\r\n Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada (three volumes, 1896–98. New edition, 1913 — with Nathaniel L Britton)\r\n The Elgin Botanical Garden and its Relation to Columbia College and the New Hampshire Grants (1908)\r\n He also left a bequest for the annual publishing of a botanical magazine, subsequently called Addisonia, devoted exclusively to plants from the United States and its territorial possessions or flowering in the New York Botanical Garden or its conservatories.

He died in New York, New York. He is interred in a grandiose sarcophagus at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, NY.

Works

• Other Work

  • Author: Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, 3 vols., 1896-1898 (with Nathaniel L. Britton). The Elgin Botanical Garden and Its Relation to Columbia College and the New Hampshire Grants, 1908.

Membership

Club, 1890-1900.

Connections

Married Mary C. Barrett, January 1, 1856 (died 1887).

father:

Addison Brown

mother:

Catharine Babson (Griffin) Brown

spouse:

Mary C. Barrett