Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr. (June 18, 1927 – January 26, 2022) was an American politician and publisher who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from the 7th District of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, from 1965 to 1983. He also served as the

United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce The United States deputy secretary of commerce is a high-ranking position within the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce. It was created on December 13, 1979, when President Jimmy Carter sent a letter to the United Sta ...

and Acting

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

in the

Presidency of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

from 1983 to 1988. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Brown was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, the son of Ethel (née McKinney) and United States Representative

Clarence J. Brown Clarence James Brown Sr. (July 14, 1893 – August 23, 1965) was an American politician; he represented Ohio as a Republican in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 until his death in Bethesda, Maryland in 1965. Long representi ...

. He attended Western High School in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and graduated from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1947 and

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, with an M.B.A., in 1949.

Career

Brown served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1944 to 1946 (

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

) and again from 1950 to 1953 in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Before entering the service, Brown had started working in the newspaper business for his father's family-owned

Brown Publishing Company Brown Publishing Company was a privately owned Cincinnati, Ohio, newspaper business started by Congressman Clarence J. Brown in Blanchester, Ohio in 1920. It ended 90 years of operations in August/September 2010 with its bankruptcy and sale of as ...

, from youth to 1953, and from 1957 to 2010. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Brown and his family lived in

Urbana, Ohio Urbana is a city in Champaign County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located about northeast of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 11,115 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

,Clancy Brown profile
FilmReference.com; accessed March 26, 2015. 90 miles north of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, where the headquarters of the publishing company was based. Brown served as president from 1965 to 1976, and later as chairman of the board. The company had interests in a wide network of newspapers across the country but, due to the rapidly changing business as a result of technology, it ceased operations in 2010 after 90 years.

Political career

Brown was first elected to the

89th United States Congress The 89th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 196 ...

, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his father Clarence Brown in 1965, and reelected to the eight succeeding Congresses (November 2, 1965, to January 3, 1983). He was not a candidate for reelection to the

98th United States Congress The 98th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 198 ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, as he ran for

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

that year, losing to

Dick Celeste Richard Frank Celeste (born November 11, 1937) is an American former diplomat, university administrator and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991 and remains the last Dem ...

. He became involved in Republican Party politics, serving as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

in the years 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1984.

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

appointed Brown as Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Acting Secretary of Commerce; he served from 1983 to 1988. He was a member of the board of the

Overseas Private Investment Corporation The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was the United States Government's Development finance institution until it merged with the Development Credit Authority (DCA) of the United States Agency for International Development (U ...

from 1988 to 1989, and he was president and chief executive officer of the

United States Capitol Historical Society The United States Capitol Historical Society (USCHS) is an organization chartered by the United States Congress, beginning in 1962, to educate the public on the heritage and history of the United States Capitol, as well as its institutions and tho ...

from 1992 to 1999.

Personal life and death

Brown was married to Joyce Helen (née Eldridge) Brown, a conductor, composer and classical pianist. They married on June 11, 1955 in a garden ceremony at the home of Roy Eldridge and Helen Eldridge in the town

Franklin, Ohio Franklin is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States, along the Great Miami River. The population was 11,690 at the 2020 census. The city lies about southwest of Dayton and northeast of Cincinnati. Ohio State Routes 73, 123 and 741 pas ...

, his wife's hometown. They had four children: Beth (c. 1957–1964);

Clancy Brown Clarence James Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. His film roles include Rawhide in ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Ban ...

, an actor, Cathy, and Roy, who followed his father into newspaper publishing and politics. Bud Brown died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at home in Urbana, Ohio, on January 26, 2022, at the age of 94.

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Bud 1927 births 2022 deaths

Bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio Duke University alumni Editors of Ohio newspapers Harvard Business School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Military personnel from Ohio Overseas Private Investment Corporation officials People from Clinton County, Ohio People from Urbana, Ohio Politicians from Columbus, Ohio United States deputy secretaries of commerce United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives