John Brown (Kentucky)
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John Brown (September 12, 1757 - August 29, 1837) was an United States lawyer and statesman who was very involved with creating the State of Kentucky. Before statehood he represented Virginia in the Continental Congress (1777-1778) and the U.S. Congress (1789-1791). While in Congress he introduced the bill granting Statehood to Kentucky. Once that was accomplished, he was elected a U.S. Senator for Kentucky.
John was born in Staunton, Virginia on September 12, 1757 to Rev. John and Margaret Brown. His father was a Presbyterian minister who had immigrated from Ireland. He had a good formal education, but in small pieces as it was interrupted by periods of military service in the Revolutionary War. He first attended the Augusta Academy (now Washington and Lee University) in nearby Lexington, then began a course of study at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He left there in 1778 when the college closed due to the war. In the spring of 1780 he started at William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, but left there in the fall when the British invaded Virginia.
After another brief period of military service, John completed his education by reading law in an office maintained by Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville. Once admitted to the bar he moved to Danville in Virginia's Kentucky County and began his practice.
Brown became politically active, and was elected to the Virginia state Senate, where he served from 1783 to 1788. The Virginia legislature sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1788. When the U.S. Constitution became effective, he was twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1789 to 1792.
As a Virginia Congressman he introduced the petition for Kentucky Statehood. When Kentucky became a state in 1792, he resigned from the House on June 1, 1792. On June 18, Kentucky elected him to the United States Senate for a term ending in 1793. He was re-elected twice and served until 1805. He was President pro tem during the Eighth Congress.
During Brown's Senate service he moved to Frankfort, Kentucky. Afterwards, he resumed the practice of law there. He remained active in local civic affairs, and also served briefly as sheriff of Franklin County. He served on the board to oversee the construction of Kentucky's Capitol Building. In 1836 he chaired the organizing meeting of the Kentucky Historical Society.
John died on August 29, 1837 in Lexington, Kentucky and was brought home to Frankfort for burial. In 1847 he was re-interred in the Frankfort Cemetery. The home he occupied in his later years is preserved as Liberty Hall historic site on Wilkinson street in Frankfort, and is operated as a museum, open to the public.
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| Preceded by - |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia March 4, 1789 – June 1, 1792 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by None; first in line |
United States Senator (Class 2) from Kentucky 1792–1805 Served alongside: John Edwards, Humphrey Marshall, John Breckinridge |
Succeeded by Buckner Thruston |
| Preceded by Stephen R. Bradley |
President pro tempore of the United States Senate December 14, 1802–October 16, 1803 |
Succeeded by Jesse Franklin |
