Wesley Ernest Brown (June 22, 1907 – January 23, 2012) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Kansas The United States District Court for the District of Kansas (in case citations, D. Kan.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas Ci ...

. At his death at age 104, he was the oldest person to serve as a federal judge in the history of the United States, actively hearing cases until approximately one month before his death.

Education and career

Born on June 22, 1907, in Hutchinson,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, to Morrison (Morey) Houston Heady Brown and Julia Elizabeth Wesley Brown, Brown received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1933 from the

Kansas City School of Law Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

(now the

University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law The University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Country Club Plaza. It was founded in 1895 as the Kansas City S ...

). He entered private practice in Hutchinson from 1933 to 1944, concurrently serving as county attorney of Reno County, Kansas from 1935 to 1939. He was the secretary of corporation and an attorney for Aircraft Woodwork Manufacturers from 1942 to 1944. He served as a lieutenant in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1944 to 1946. He returned to private practice in Hutchinson from 1946 to 1958.

Federal judicial service

Bankruptcy court service

Brown served as a Referee in Bankruptcy for the District of Kansas from 1958 to 1962.

District court service

Brown was nominated by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

on March 8, 1962, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Delmas Carl Hill. He was confirmed by 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 ...

on April 2, 1962, and received his commission on April 4, 1962. He served as Chief Judge from 1971 to 1977 and as a member of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

from 1976 to 1979. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on September 1, 1979. He served as a Judge of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals from 1980 to 1993. His service terminated on January 23, 2012, due to his death at an assisted living facility in Wichita, Kansas. Brown had passed Judge

Joseph William Woodrough Joseph William Woodrough (August 29, 1873 – October 2, 1977) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for ...

in August 2011 to become the oldest person to serve as a federal judge in the history of the United States, a distinction he retains as of October 2018. He had continued to hear cases until approximately one month prior to his death, though he discontinued hearing criminal cases in March 2011.

Death

Brown died at the age of 104 in his sleep on January 23, 2012.

References

External links

*
Wesley Ernest Brown entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Wesley Ernest 1907 births 2012 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians United States Navy personnel of World War II Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas People from Hutchinson, Kansas United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy 20th-century American judges United States Navy officers