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Virginia Mae Brown (November 13, 1923 – February 15, 1991) was an American civil servant, government official, and lawyer. Among her many "firsts", she became West Virginia's first female assistant attorney general by working for
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
John G. Fox. She was later named West Virginia's
insurance commissioner An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office ...
, the first female to hold this position in the United States. President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
appointed Brown a member of the
Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...
(ICC), the first female since its inception in 1887, and later promoted her to be its first female chair.


Early life

Virginia May Brown was born in
Pliny, West Virginia Pliny is an unincorporated community in Putnam County, West Virginia, United States. It was named for M. Pliny Brown, an early settler. The ZIP code is 25158. Located near Pliny is Maplewood, listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...
Brown was appointed a member of the
Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...
(ICC) in March 1964 by President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
, the first female since its inception in 1887. She was promoted to vice chairman of the commission in 1968. In 1969, President Johnson promoted her as the first female chair of the Interstate Commerce Commission for a one-year term. Brown served in 1967 as a delegate on the Inland Transport Committee to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. The meeting took place in
Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
.


Later life and death

After Brown left the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1979, she was president and chair of the board of the Buffalo Bank of Eleanor. From 1983 through 1991 she served in the
United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
office of hearing appeals in
Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...
, in the position of chief administrative law judge. She died of a heart attack in Charleston on February 15, 1991.


Personal life

Brown had two daughters.


Legacy

Brown was the first woman to serve as executive secretary to the West Virginia Judicial Council (1949) and as executive secretary to the Judicial Council of West Virginia (1944–1952). She was the first woman in West Virginia to be the state's assistant attorney general (1952–1961); the first woman insurance commissioner in the United States (1961); the first woman to be West Virginia Public Service Commission member (1962); and the first woman chairperson of an independent federal agency, the United States Interstate Commerce Commission (1969–1970).


Footnotes


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Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Virginia Mae 1923 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women 20th-century Presbyterians American bank presidents American women chief executives American women civil servants Businesspeople from Charleston, West Virginia Lawyers from Charleston, West Virginia People from Buffalo, West Virginia People from Putnam County, West Virginia People of the Interstate Commerce Commission Presbyterians from West Virginia State insurance commissioners of the United States United States Department of Health and Human Services officials West Virginia Democrats West Virginia lawyers West Virginia University alumni West Virginia University College of Law alumni