Godfrey Brown (c. 1838 – January 9, 1928) was Minister of Foreign Affairs under King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kin ...

and Minister of Finance and under both Kalākaua and

Liliʻuokalani Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Haw ...

Background

Godfrey Brown was born about 1838 in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

, near

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

in England, to landscape gardener Thomas Brown and his wife Mary Ann Rhodes. His maternal grandfather Godfrey Rhodes was a bank executive, and his maternal uncle also bore the name Godfrey. His father's ill health precipitated a relocation to Hawaii in 1844, by way of a six-month sea voyage around the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. At the time of the voyage, Godfrey had an older brother Arthur, and younger siblings Alice, Frank and Malcolm. Three maternal aunts Annie Rhodes Covington, Sarah Rhodes Pfister and Susannah Rhodes Robinson made the relocation to Hawaii with the Brown family. Brother Cecil Brown was born in 1850 at

Wailua, Kauai County, Hawaii Wailua (literally, "two waters" in Hawaiian) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 2,359 at the 2020 census, up from 2,083 at the 2000 census. Geography Wailua is located at (22.058631 ...

Hawaii

Youngest brother Cecil Brown was born in 1850 in Hawaii. All brothers except Cecil were schooled in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, after which Godfrey worked for a while in New York, followed by employment in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and an eventual return to Hawaii. Godfrey and Cecil became financial officers of the Hawaiian Hardware Company.

Legislative career

For the 1878

Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom () was the bicameral (later unicameral) legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constituti ...

, Brown was Secretary of the Legislative Assembly, an appointed position to record the proceedings. He was elected as a Representative for the 1884 session. The House of Nobles were appointed by the monarch, and included the cabinet positions. Brown was a member of the Nobles for the 1887 session in his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and for the 1890 session in his position as Minister of Finance. Both positions were appointments of Kalākaua. When

ascended to the throne upon the death of Kalākaua, she demanded the resignation of his entire cabinet.

Death

Brown remained in business for many years in Hawaii, as an officer with both the Hawaiian Electric Company and the Hawaiian Bell Telephone Company. In 1894, he replaced

Samuel Mills Damon Samuel Mills Damon (March 13, 1845 – July 1, 1924) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, through the Republic of Hawaii and into the Territory of Hawaii. Life Damon was born in Honolulu on March 13, 1845. His father was ...

as manager of a Honolulu bank when a San Francisco company acquired the bank's shares from founder

Charles Reed Bishop Charles Reed Bishop (January 25, 1822 – June 7, 1915) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist in Hawaii. Born in Glens Falls, New York, Glens Falls, New York (state), New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, a ...

. He spent his final years in England, and died there in 1928 at the age of 90.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* ::"A List of All the Cabinet Ministers Who Have Held Office in the Hawaiian Kingdom" {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Godfrey 1928 deaths Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Hawaiian Kingdom Finance Ministers