John Brown (Rhode Island)

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John Brown (1736–1803) was an American merchant and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island and founder of Brown University.

Born in Providence, January 27, 1736, Brown went on to own a successful farming and shipping business with his brothers, Nicholas, Joseph, and Moses Brown. He was active in the slave trade and china trade and invested heavily in privateers during the 1760s through 1780s. John Brown sold the United States Navy its first ship, the USS Providence (1775) (previously, the Katy), during the American Revolution in 1775. Brown was named as a delegate for Rhode Island to the Continental Congress in 1784-1785 but did not attend. He was an active Federalist and pushed against the anti-federalist, "country party" in Rhode Island in getting Rhode Island to become part of federal union. Brown was eventually elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1798 and served there from 1799 to 1801. Brown was the first person prosecuted under the federal slave importation laws in 1796. John Brown died at Providence on September 20, 1803, and is buried in the North Burial Ground there.

Brown's grandson, John Brown Francis was later a U.S. Senator and Governor of Rhode Island. His younger brother, Moses Brown, was a notable abolitionist, and his brother-in-law and business partner, Jabez Bowen was a notable Rhode Island political figure.

[edit] References and external links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Charles Rappleye, Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution (Simon& Shuster, New York: 2006).
• John Brown's Mansion