John William Brown (December 28, 1913October 29, 1993) was an American
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician from
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. He briefly served as the 58th
governor of Ohio
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
from January 3, 1957 to January 14, 1957 and served as the 51st and 54th
lieutenant governor of Ohio
The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve a ...
.
Brown also served as mayor of Medina, in the
Ohio House
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate.
The House of Representatives first met i ...
, and in the
Ohio Senate
The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...
.
Lieutenant governor
John W. 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
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
George D. Nye, and took office in 1953. (At the time, the office of lieutenant governor was elected separately from the office of
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
). Brown defeated Nye again in 1954 to win a second two-year term.
In 1956, instead of seeking another term as lieutenant governor, Brown ran for the gubernatorial nomination against state Attorney General
. Brown lost badly in the primary, getting only 27.5% of the vote to O'Neill's 72.5%.
[ Congressional Quarterly, Inc., ''Guide to U.S. Elections'', 2d ed., 1985.]
Governor of Ohio
In January 1957, as Brown was about to leave the lieutenant governorship,
Frank J. Lausche
Frank John Lausche (; November 14, 1895 – April 21, 1990) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 47th mayor of Cleveland and the 55th and 57th governor of Ohio, and also served as a United States Senator from Ohio ...
, the Democratic governor of Ohio, resigned to take a seat in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
, which he had won in the 1956 general election. Brown, thus, was elevated to the office of governor. Lausche's successor, C. William O'Neill (who had defeated Brown in the gubernatorial primary), had already been elected, at the same time that Lausche won his Senate seat; however, at the time, the U.S. Senate term began on January 3, but the Ohio gubernatorial term did not end until January 14.
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
Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...
. Among papers was a letter, on gubernatorial letter-head, to Columbus mayor M. E. 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.
Later career
In 1958, Brown was elected to the
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate.
The House of Representatives first met in ...
, where he served from 1959 to 1961. He won election to the lieutenant governorship again in 1962, and served another three terms (by this time, the lieutenant governor's term had been extended to four years), from 1963 to 1975. 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
The Ohio Naval Militia (Ohio Navy) is the naval militia of the State of Ohio. It is the naval arm of the State of Ohio's Adjutant General's Department, and is part of Ohio's military forces.
Their operational headquarters are on the Camp Perry Joi ...
.
Legacy
Brown Arena at the Ohio Expo Center and
State Fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...
in Columbus, Ohio, is named in honor of Brown.
Notes
References
*
External links
*
*
Ohio Expo CenterOhio State Fair
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John William
Lieutenant Governors of Ohio
Republican Party governors of Ohio
Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives
1913 births
1993 deaths
People from Athens, Ohio
20th-century American politicians