Garry Eldridge Brown (August 12, 1923 – August 27, 1998) was a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He served six terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1967 to 1979.

Biography

Brown was born in

Schoolcraft, Michigan Schoolcraft is a village in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States. The village is located in Schoolcraft Township approximately south of Kalamazoo on U.S. Route 131. The population was 1,525 at the 2010 census. The village is named in ...

on August 12, 1923 to a family with a political background in Michigan. His great-grandfather, Ebenezer Lakin Brown, and his grandfather, Addison Makepeace Brown, both served in the Michigan State Legislature. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Brown served in the Twenty-fourth Infantry Regiment of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as second lieutenant in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. After the war, he worked for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, under Hoover, before earning a B.A. from

Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, K ...

in 1951 and a LL.B from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

in 1954. He was admitted to the bar in 1954 and commenced practice in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

. He was commissioner of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan from 1957 to 1962 and was a delegate to the Michigan constitutional convention of 1961-1962.

Political career

He served two terms in the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Constitution of Michigan, Mi ...

from 1963 to 1966, where he was minority floor leader and chairman of the Republican senate policy committee. He represented the 6th district from 1963 to 1964 and the 21st district from 1965 to 1966. In 1966, Brown defeated incumbent Democrat Paul H. Todd, Jr., one of the " Five Fluke Freshmen", to be elected as a Republican to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Michigan's 3rd congressional district Michigan's 3rd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, U.S. congressional district in West Michigan. From 2003 to 2013, it consisted of the counties of Barry County, Michigan, Barry and Ionia County, Michigan, ...

for the Ninetieth and to the five succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1979. Brown took the lead in October 1972 in obstructing the efforts of Rep. Wright Patman, D-TX, to have the House Banking and Currency Committee investigate the flow of illegal campaign funds to the Watergate burglars. By July 1973, with the scheme unraveling in the courts and in televised Senate hearings, Brown was admitting he had been wrong to do so. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1978, losing to Democrat Howard E. Wolpe.

Personal life

He resumed the practice of law and was a resident of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

until his death. Garry Brown married Frances Wilkins in 1955, together they had four daughters, Frances, Mollie, Amelia, and Abigail. His family owned and operated a dairy farm while he was growing up in Schoolcraft, Michigan. They were one of the first to settle there, and his family still owns the original property that the Browns settled on in the 1830s.

Death

Brown died on August 27, 1998 in

and was laid to rest in Schoolcraft, Michigan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Garry 1923 births 1998 deaths Republican Party Michigan state senators Delegates to the 1961–1962 Michigan Constitutional Convention United States Army officers George Washington University Law School alumni Kalamazoo College alumni United States Army personnel of World War II People from Kalamazoo County, Michigan Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives