John Cunningham Brown (February 13, 1844 – January 18, 1929) was an Irish-born newspaper owner and political figure in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He represented

New Westminster City New Westminster City was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1871 to 1912. For other electoral districts in New Westminster, please see New Westminster (electoral districts). Demographics Politi ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

from 1890 to 1894 and from 1900 to 1901. He was born in

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

in 1844, the son of Robert Campbell Brown, and was educated at the Royal Academy in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. Brown entered Queen's College in 1861, planning to study medicine, but left the following year for

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

with a brother. He went to the Stickeen mines, returning to Victoria, and then settled in

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

the following year. He entered the newspaper business and, in 1871, established the ''Herald'', later the ''British Columbian''. Brown sold the newspaper in 1880 after he was named postmaster for New Westminster. In 1887, he married Kate E. Clarkson. Brown was a member of the local militia and also served as chairman of the board of school trustees. He was mayor of New Westminster from 1890 to 1891. Brown was named to the provincial cabinet as Provincial Secretary in 1900; due to the regulations at that time, he was required to run again for his seat in a by-election and he lost his seat in the assembly to

Thomas Gifford Thomas Eugene Gifford (May 16, 1937 – October 31, 2000) was a best-selling American author of thriller novels. He was a graduate of Harvard University. He gained international fame with the crime novel '' The Glendower Legacy'' and later w ...

in September 1901. In 1907, he was named warden for the

British Columbia Penitentiary The British Columbia Penitentiary (BC Penitentiary, commonly referred to as the BC Pen and the Pen) was a federal maximum security prison located in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. The BC Penitentiary operated for 102 years, from 1878 ...

, located in New Westminster. He died in New Westminster at the age of 84 on January 8, 1929.

References

1844 births 1929 deaths Independent MLAs in British Columbia Mayors of New Westminster Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia Politicians from County Cork People from Fermoy 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 19th-century mayors of places in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub