Reagan Veasy Brown (September 20, 1921 – November 16, 1999) was the elected commissioner of the

Texas Department of Agriculture The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is a state agency within the state of Texas, which is responsible for matters pertaining to agriculture, rural community affairs, and related matters. It is currently headed by Agriculture Commissioner ...

from 1977 to 1983.

Early years

He was born on September 20, 1921, he lost a finger in an accident when he was young. Brown graduated from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in 1943. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in 1943 and served in the 69th Infantry Division in the

European theatre of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Nazi Germany, Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 Sept ...

.Cooper, Jerry Cullum (editor). ''"Here": The Muster Speeches at Texas A&M University'',

Texas A&M University Press Texas A&M University Press (also known informally as TAMU Press) is a scholarly publishing house associated with Texas A&M University. It was founded in 1974 and is located in College Station, Texas, in the United States. Overview The Texas A ...

, 2018
section: "Reagan V. Brown '43: 1975–G. Rollie White Coliseum"
. He was discharged from the Army in 1946 as a captain.

Texas agriculture commissioner

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Dolph Briscoe Dolph Briscoe Jr. (April 23, 1923 – June 27, 2010) was an American rancher and businessman from Uvalde, Texas, who was the 41st governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Because of his re-election foll ...

appointed Brown to succeed longtime Agriculture Commissioner John C. White, when White resigned to serve in the Carter administration in

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, ...

In 1978, Brown was elected under the new statute providing four-year terms for statewide elected officials. He was known for his fight for pest and predator control. To prevent the spread of the

Mediterranean fruit fly ''Ceratitis capitata'', commonly known as the Mediterranean fruit fly or medfly, is a yellow-and-brown fly native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has no near relatives in the Western Hemisphere and is considered to be one of the most destructive frui ...

from California to Texas in 1981, Brown required California produce to be fumigated before entering the state. Under special legislation passed during the fruit-fly crisis, the department was authorized to seize or to destroy infested products and to stop interstate and intrastate traffic to enforce the law. Brown also worked to halt the spread of the imported

fire ant Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the nam ...

. He even famously put his hand into a fire ant mound at the urging of a television reporter while news cameras rolled. However, his opponent in the 1982 Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, the liberal journalist and commentator

Jim Hightower James Allen Hightower (born January 11, 1943) is an American syndicated columnist, progressive political activist, and author. From 1983 to 1991 he served as the elected commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture. He publishes a monthly ...

, accused him of manufacturing the fire ant crisis to win reelection. Brown was also embarrassed when during a public speech in April 1982 he called

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

, "That great black nigger, er, educator." (''Bob Bullock'' by Dave McNeely. Pg. 152. 2008.) Brown would blame his slur on food poisoning

Hightower unseated Brown in a heavily Democratic year in Texas and nationally. Eight years later Hightower was himself unseated by future Governor

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republi ...

Lucky B Ranch

In 1983, Brown bought the Lucky B Ranch near

Bryan Bryan may refer to: Places United States * Bryan, Arkansas * Bryan, Kentucky * Bryan, Ohio * Bryan, Texas * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town in Sweetwater County in the U.S. state of Wyoming * Bryan Township (disambiguation) Facilities and structur ...

, Texas. He bred

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North ...

, which were once plentiful in Texas but had since been hunted to near-extinction.

Death

Brown died in a farm tractor accident at his ranch in

Brazos County Brazos County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 233,849. The county seat is Bryan. Along with Brazoria County, the county is named for the Brazos River, which forms its western border. The co ...

on November 16, 1999.The Political Graveyard,
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Reagan V. 1921 births 1999 deaths United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Agriculture commissioners of Texas Texas Democrats Texas A&M University alumni People from Brazos County, Texas Accidental deaths in Texas Farming accident deaths 20th-century American politicians People from Henderson, Texas Military personnel from Texas