John Young Brown (February 1, 1900 – June 16, 1985) was an American attorney and

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 ...

. He was a state representative for six two-year terms, serving one as speaker of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1932 and as majority floor leader in 1966, during the term of Governor Edward T. Breathitt. He was elected to one term in 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 March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1935, to an at-large seat elected statewide on a

general ticket The general ticket or party block voting (PBV), is a type of block voting in which voters opt for a party or a team of candidates, and the highest-polling party/team becomes the winner and receives 100% of the seats for this multi-member distric ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...

in 1939 and the party's unsuccessful nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1946 and 1966. He lost five Democratic primaries for the Senate, the last one in 1968.

Biography

Brown was the son of tenant farmers Jesse C. and Lucy Keeper Brown, who named him after John Young Brown, a former governor and neighbor. He was born on a farm near Geiger Lake,

Union County, Kentucky Union County is a county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,668. Its county seat is Morganfield. The county was created effective January 15, 1811. The county is located on the east bank of the Ohio ...

, attended Union County schools and graduated from the high school at

Sturgis, Kentucky Sturgis is a home rule-class city in Union County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,898 at the 2010 census. Located in northwest Kentucky, the city was founded in 1890 and named for Samuel Sturgis, who owned the land now occupied b ...

. He graduated from

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micr ...

with an A.B. degree in 1921 where he was a member of

Phi Kappa Tau Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a collegiate fraternity located in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of May 2024, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 83 active chapters, 7 associate chapters, a ...

fraternity and a "Scrub" player on the famous

Centre Praying Colonels football The Centre Colonels football team, historically also known as the Praying Colonels, represents Centre College in NCAA Division III competition. The Colonels currently play in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA), which was established in 2011 ...

team. He received his LL.B. degree from

University of Kentucky College of Law The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, also known as UK Rosenberg College of Law, is the law school of the University of Kentucky located in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania Univers ...

in 1926 and was admitted to the bar that same year. He was a well-known trial lawyer who practiced law from 1926 to 1985 in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, with three firms: Brown and Miller, Brown and Son, and Brown, Sledd and McCann. He was noted for his extensive quotation of the Bible from memory during his summations to juries and his representation of coal miners. Brown was elected to Congress in 1932 when the state failed to redistrict due to a reduction in the number of its House members and elected them at large. It was his only statewide victory. In 1934 he lost the Democratic nomination in the new Sixth District to Virgil Chapman. He lost the 1939 Democratic primary for governor to Lt. Gov.

Keen Johnson Keen Johnson (January 12, 1896February 7, 1970) was an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1939 to 1943; being the only journalist to have held that office.Odgen, p. 178 After serving in World War I, Jo ...

and the primaries for the U.S. Senate in 1936 and 1942, the last one to Sen. A.B. "Happy" Chandler. He won the Senate nomination in 1946 over Phil Ardery but lost the general election to Republican

John Sherman Cooper John Sherman Cooper (August 23, 1901 – February 21, 1991) was an American politician, jurist, and diplomat from the United States. He served three non-consecutive, partial terms in the United States Senate before being elected to two fu ...

. He lost the 1948 Senate primary to Chapman, who was elected but died in 1951, and the 1960 primary to Johnson. He won the nomination in 1966 but lost again to Cooper. He finished second to Katherine Peden in the 1968 Democratic primary. Brown sponsored much legislation in the state House including the state's first sales-tax and civil-rights laws. He was recognized on many occasions as the most effective legislator in the House. He lost to Richard P. "Dick" Moloney in a 1951 primary for the state Senate.

Personal life

Brown married Dorothy Inman in March 1929 in

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...

. They had five children: Dorothy Ann, Betty, John Y. Jr., Diane, and Pamela. They divorced in 1973 after repeated political campaigns strained their relationship. Their son, John Y. Brown Jr., made a large fortune as the owner of

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...

and was Kentucky governor from 1979 to 1983. Their daughter Pamela died in 1970 in an ill-fated attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon dubbed " The Free Life." He is also the grandfather of former Kentucky Secretary of State John Y. Brown III, news anchor Pamela Brown and philanthropist Lincoln Brown. Brown died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in Louisville, six months after being paralyzed from the waist down in an automobile accident.

Legacy

Brown is a member of the University of Kentucky College of Law's Hall of Fame and the Phi Kappa Tau Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John Y. Sr. 1900 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Brown family (Kentucky) Centre College alumni Deaths from pneumonia in Kentucky Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Kentucky lawyers Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Union County, Kentucky Politicians with paraplegia University of Kentucky College of Law alumni American lawyers with disabilities American politicians with disabilities 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly Speakers of the Kentucky House of Representatives