John Brown was born in Staunton, Virginia in 1757 and attended Princeton College until the British took the city in 1777 during the American Revolution. In 1778, Brown came to William & Mary and studied Natural Science under William & Mary President James Madison as well as law under Thomas Jefferson. While a student at William & Mary, John Brown was an early member of Phi Beta Kappa. Brown left William & Mary in 1781 when the College closed down due to the British invading Virginia. After he left William & Mary, he studied law and was a member of the Continental Congress from 1787-1789. He was elected as a U.S. Senator from Kentucky in 1792 and was re-elected in 1799. He died in Frankfort, Kentucky in 1837.
References
- University Archives Faculty-Alumni Collection, Brown, John 1778/80, Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, William & Mary.