Prentiss Marsh Brown (June 18, 1889December 19, 1973) was a Democratic

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

and

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from the

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Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Biography

Brown was born in

St. Ignace, Michigan St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered autono ...

and attended the public schools there. He attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

and graduated from

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Intercolle ...

Albion, Michigan Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,616 at the 2010 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area. The earliest English-s ...

in 1911. He studied law and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1914 and commenced practice in St. Ignace. Brown married Marion Walker in 1916. The couple had a total of seven children. Brown was prosecuting attorney of

Mackinac County Mackinac County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace, Michigan, St. Ignace. Forme ...

from 1914 to 1926 and the city attorney of St. Ignace from 1916 to 1928. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1924 to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and in 1928 for election as justice of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the state ...

. He was a member of the State Board of Law Examiners from 1930 to 1942.

Congress

Brown was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from

Michigan's 11th congressional district Michigan's 11th congressional district is a United States congressional district northwest of Detroit, comprising portions of northwestern Wayne and southwestern Oakland counties. Until 1993, the district covered the state's Upper Peninsula an ...

to the

for the

73rd Congress The 73rd 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 March 4, 1933, ...

and was reelected to the

74th Congress The 74th 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, DC from January 3, 1935, ...

, serving from March 4, 1933, until his resignation, effective November 18, 1936. He was elected as a

on November 3, 1936, to 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 ...

for the term beginning January 3, 1937, but was subsequently appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

James Couzens James J. Couzens (August 26, 1872October 22, 1936) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. He served as mayor of Detroit (1919–1922) and U.S. Senator from Michigan (1922–1936). Prior to entering politics he served as vice ...

for the term ending January 3, 1937. In total, he served from November 19, 1936, to January 3, 1943. He was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Claims in the Seventy-seventh Congress. He was also a member of the Banking and Currency Committee, and in this capacity was instrumental in helping

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

achieve his desired wage and farm price controls. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1942.

After Congress: family

In December 1942, Roosevelt selected Brown to take over as administrator of the

Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money (price contr ...

, replacing

Leon Henderson Leon Henderson (May 26, 1895 – October 19, 1986) was the administrator of the Office of Price Administration from 1941 to 1942. He also served as a member of several United States federal government agencies during World War II. Life and career ...

, whose tenure as administrator was listed as one of the major reasons for Democratic losses in the 1942 elections. In 1943 he resumed the practice of law in both

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He also served as chairman of the

Detroit Edison Company DTE Electric Company (formerly The Detroit Edison Company) was founded in 1886. DTE Electric's power generation portfolio includes renewable energy, but is primarily generated by fossil fuels. In 2021, 67.32% of electricity generated by DTE came ...

. In 1951, Brown was named chairman of the new

Mackinac Bridge Authority The Mackinac Bridge Authority is an independent state agency of the U.S. state of Michigan that operates the Mackinac Bridge across the Straits of Mackinac. The Mackinac Bridge Authority has been directed by the state of Michigan to maintain the ...

and served until his death. During his chairmanship, this authority oversaw the construction of Michigan's

Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") is the worl ...

. He once stated during a radio interview that he came up with the idea for the Mackinac Bridge after an unusually bitter winter one day disrupted his commute to work by ferry and forced him to cross the strait on the brittle icy lake surface. Brown died in St. Ignace at the age of 84 and is interred there at Lakeside Cemetery. Two of Brown's children were also active in Democratic party politics. Prentiss M. Brown, Jr., ran unsuccessfully for Congress several times, in 1952, 1956, 1958, and 1960, and was the city attorney for St. Ignace for 50 years. Paul Walker Brown was a member of the

Board of Regents of the University of Michigan The Regents of the University of Michigan, sometimes referred to as the board of regents, are constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Michigan who collectively form the governing body of the University of Michigan, comprising the campuses a ...

from 1971 until 1994, and ran unsuccessfully for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1974.

Honors

* He has been called the "father of the Mackinac Bridge." His import was so great that his visage was placed on a special memorial bridge token created by the Mackinac Bridge Authority. * In 2004,

renamed its Honors Institute the ''Prentiss M. Brown Honors Institute'' in memory of the 1911 alumnus. * Between 1976 and 2001, the stretch of

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

between the

and

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

, was known as the Prentiss M. Brown Memorial Highway. Since 2001, the Prentiss M. Brown Memorial Highway is designated as the name of I-75 in

on the north side of the Mackinac Bridge. * His accomplishments are commemorated as a "Michigan Legal Milestone" erected by the

State Bar of Michigan The State Bar of Michigan is the governing body for lawyers in the State of Michigan. Membership is mandatory for attorneys who practice law in Michigan. The organization's mission is to aid in promoting improvements in the administration of jus ...

.Michigan Legal Milestones.
* He is prominently featured in the PBS documentary "Building the Mighty Mac" by LA filmmaker Mark Howell.

References

* * * * * *

External links

*
Albion College press announcement
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Prentiss M. 1889 births 1973 deaths People from St. Ignace, Michigan Democratic Party United States senators from Michigan Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Albion College alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni 20th-century American politicians