Sam Brown (6 July 1831?, in Ohio? – 6 July 1861, in Nevada) was an American outlaw, reputed to have killed eleven men and often accused of being a coward and a bully, inclined to unprovoked violence when intoxicated.

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

mentions "Sam Brown" among 11 names of notorious killers in Nevada during the 1860s. For a brief time, Sam Brown is alleged to have been the most notorious desperado in Virginia City. In the American West of that time, outlaws often used aliases and their exploits were often exaggerated by themselves and by tellers of tall tales. Newspaper accounts might have subordinated the truth to telling a good story, selling newspapers, and maintaining a good image for influential people, such as saloon keepers and lawyers. According to Mark Twain, According to Myron Angel's history, in defending his claim in

Fiddletown, California Fiddletown (from 1878 to 1932, Oleta) is a census-designated place in Amador County, California, Amador County, California. It lies at an elevation of 1683 feet (513 m). It is located at . The town is registered as a California Historical Landmark ...

in 1854, Sam Brown was convicted of killing three Chileans and wounding a fourth and served two years in

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

. The accounts of Brown's death suggest that in celebrating his 30th birthday he became drunk and started a fight with Henry Van Sickles, who chased him on horseback and then shot him dead.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Sam 1831 births 1861 deaths Outlaws of the American Old West People of pre-statehood Nevada Deaths by firearm in Nevada