Background
Brown, John William was born on December 28, 1913 in Athens, Ohio, United States. Son of James A. and Daisy (Foster) Brown.
Brown, John William was born on December 28, 1913 in Athens, Ohio, United States. Son of James A. and Daisy (Foster) Brown.
Graduated from high school. Doctor of Laws, Ashland College, 1975.
He briefly served as the 58th from January 3, 1957 to January 14, 1957 and served as the 51st and 54th Lieutenant Brown also served as mayor of Medina, in the Ohio House, and in the Ohio Senate. John West. Brown is Ohio"s longest serving lieutenant governor, having served under three different governors from 1953 to 1957 and 1963 to 1975. In 1952, he unseated the incumbent lieutenant governor, Democrat George Doctorate. Nye, and took office in 1953.
(At the time, the office of lieutenant governor was elected separately from the office of governor).
In 1956, instead of seeking another term as lieutenant governor, Brown ran for the gubernatorial nomination against state Attorney General C. William O"Neill. Brown lost badly in the primary, getting only 27.5% of the vote to O"Neill"s 72.5%.
Brown, thus, was elevated to the office of governor. Into the breach stepped the outgoing lieutenant governor.
Brown took his eleven-day-long governorship very seriously.
He moved into the governor"s mansion, summoned the General Assembly to hear his state of the state address, demanded and received the governor"s salary for the eleven days, and deposited five boxes of gubernatorial papers with the Ohio Historical Society. Among papers was a letter, on gubernatorial letter-head, to Columbus mayor M. East. Sensenbrenner, asking him to take care of a parking ticket. There was also a letter to then-President Eisenhower asking for a federal job after his eleven days in the governor"s office were complete.
In 1958, Brown was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served from 1959 to 1961.
In 1974, Brown lost his bid for another term to Richard F. Celeste. After serving as lieutenant governor, Brown worked to reactivate, and became the first commandant of, the Ohio Naval Militia.
Member Medina Volunteer Fire Department, since 1953. Served with United States Coast Guard Reserve, World World War II. Commander Reserve retired.
Member American Legion (life), Veterans of Foreign Wars (life), Amvets (life), Ohio Gun Collectors Association, Reserve Officers Association, Pi Kappa Alpha. Clubs: Masons (33 degree), Shriners, Columbus Athletic.
Married E. LaRue Hamer.