Clarke W. Brown Sr. (died May 24, 1956) was an American politician who served as the 31st

Secretary of State of Michigan The Michigan Department of State is a principal executive department of the government of Michigan. It is responsible for administering Election, elections, regulating Notary public, notaries public, and maintaining records of statutes and the S ...

from 1934 to 1935 as a member of the Republican Party.

Career

In 1934,

Michigan Secretary of State The Michigan Department of State is a principal executive department of the government of Michigan. It is responsible for administering Election, elections, regulating Notary public, notaries public, and maintaining records of statutes and the S ...

Frank Fitzgerald Frank Dwight Fitzgerald (January 27, 1885 – March 16, 1939) was an American politician. He was elected as the 34th and 36th governor of Michigan and was the only Michigan governor to die in office. Early life Fitzgerald was born on January 27 ...

was elected

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

. On November 13, Governor-elect Fitzgerald resigned as secretary of state. The resignation was effective November 15. Fitzgerald had made prior arrangements with Governor William Comstock, that after Fitzgerald's resignation, Clarke W. Brown, the deputy secretary of state who had held the office for over 25 years, be appointed to fill the vacancy until the newly elected secretary of state took office on January 1, 1935. Brown lived in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...

at the time. Brown was appointed by Governor Comstock, as planned, on November 15, and was sworn in to the position the same day. Shortly after being sworn in, Brown appointed Secretary of State-elect Orville E. Atwood as deputy secretary of state, and Atwood was sworn in as deputy secretary on November 15 as well. Brown was a Republican. On January 15, 1935, Brown was appointed by the Michigan public utilities commission as secretary of the commission.

Personal life

Brown's wife died on November 5, 1940. Together, they had two children.

Death

Brown died of a heart attack in his home in

Roscommon, Michigan Roscommon ( ) is a village in and the county seat of Roscommon County, Michigan, United States. The population was 981 at the 2020 census. History The community of Roscommon was first settled as early as 1845 by George Robinson of Detroit shortl ...

, on May 24, 1956.

References

Year of birth missing 1956 deaths Michigan Republicans Politicians from Lansing, Michigan People from Roscommon County, Michigan Secretaries of state of Michigan 20th-century Michigan politicians {{Michigan-politician-stub