Timothy Brown Sr. (February 24, 1889December 31, 1977) was an American lawyer and jurist from

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. He was the 18th chief justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

(1962–1963), and served a total of 14 years on the court. Before joining the court, he was executive legal counsel to governors Walter S. Goodland and Oscar Rennebohm, the latter appointed him to the Supreme Court.

Biography

Born in

, Brown graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and received his law degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Brown served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Brown practiced law in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and served as executive counsel to the

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

. In 1949, he joined the

and in 1962 became chief justice of the court, retiring in 1964. He became chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court by rule of seniority on May 18, 1962, after the death of Chief Justice Grover L. Broadfoot. At the time he became chief justice, he was already expected to step down at the end of 1963, when his current term expired. This was due to a 1955 amendment to the state constitution, which set 70 as a mandatory retirement age for state judges.To avoid confusion on this point, the mandatory retirement age implemented in 1955 was repealed by another amendment in 1977, which instead said the legislature could set a mandatory retirement age. The legislature has never implemented this, which is why there is no mandatory retirement age for Wisconsin judges since 1977.

Personal life and family

On June 29, 1921, Timothy Brown married Margaret Seymour Titchener, at her parents' home in Ithaca, New York. Margaret Titchener was the eldest daughter of psychologist Edward B. Titchener. They met at the University of Wisconsin, while she was working on the staff of the Romance language department, where she earned her Ph.D. They had one son together, Timothy Jr. Margaret suffered from a long illness in the 1930s and died at age 40 in February 1936. Later that year, on July 16, Brown married Louise Coxon, daughter of a prominent Madison family. Louise was a dress designer, and had studied under

Bradshaw Crandell Bradshaw Crandell (June 14, 1896 – January 25, 1966) was an American artist and illustrator. He was known as the "artist of the stars". Among those who posed for Crandell were Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Veronica Lake and Lana Tur ...

. Brown, his second wife, and his son all died in the last quarter of 1977. Brown's son, Timothy Jr., followed his mother in the study of Romance languages and taught Spanish and Portuguese at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

for 25 years. 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 ...

, he served as a first lieutenant in the

U.S. 3rd Infantry Division The 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) (nicknamed Rock of the Marne) is a combined arms division of the United States Army based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. It is a subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps under U.S. Army Forces Command. Its curr ...

. He died in Arizona at age 55 after suffering from a respiratory disease. Brown's wife, Louise, died on December 5, 1977, at age 71, after 41 years of marriage. At the time of her death, she was celebrated as a civic leader and patron of the arts in Madison. Timothy Brown died just a few weeks later, in a nursing home in Madison, on December 31, 1977. He left an estate valued at $3 million (about $15 million adjusted for inflation to 2024). He was survived by three granddaughters.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Timothy Lawyers from Madison, Wisconsin Lawyers from Milwaukee Military personnel from Madison, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Harvard Law School alumni Chief justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court 1889 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Wisconsin state court judges 20th-century American lawyers