Torrey C. Brown (February 28, 1937 – April 20, 2014) was an American politician who served in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

and was the Secretary of the

Maryland Department of Natural Resources The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. I ...

Background

Brown was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and graduated from the University of Chicago High School. He earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree at Wheaton College in 1957 and then came to Baltimore to go to medical school. Brown received his medical degree from the

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a Private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Ho ...

in 1961. After completing his residency in internal medicine, Brown joined the Hopkins faculty. He was promoted to assistant dean of the School of Medicine and later rose to become the vice president of

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

. He also served with the U.S. Public Health Service from 1963 to 1965.

In the Legislature

Brown was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1971 and represented Legislative District 39, in Baltimore City, until 1983. He was a member of the Environmental Matters Committee and became its chairman in 1979. In his first year in the legislature, one of his colleagues, Delegate Russell O. Hickman, suffered a heart attack during a debate. Brown and fellow physician Dr. Aris T. Allen, a state senator from Annapolis, were credited with saving his life.

As Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources

In 1982, after redistricting, Brown ran for re-election to the Maryland House of Delegates, but this time in the newly created 44th legislative district. He was pitted against three other incumbents: Delegates Dennis C. McCoy, Frank Robey and Anne Scarlett Perkins as well as several newcomers including former television news anchor

Curt Anderson Curtis Stovall Anderson (born October 12, 1949) is an American politician, lawyer and former broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist. He was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1983, was the chairman of the Baltimore City Del ...

. Although three seats were up for election, Brown finished fourth behind Anderson, McCoy and Perkins. He was, however, appointed by Governor

Harry Hughes Harry Roe Hughes (November 13, 1926 – March 13, 2019) was an American politician from the Democratic Party who served as the 57th Governor of Maryland from 1979 to 1987. Early life and family Hughes was born in Easton, Maryland, the ...

to be the new Secretary of the

and assumed that post in 1983. As Secretary, Brown proved to be a formidable advocate for saving Maryland's natural resources. In 1984 Brown issued a moratorium that saved the dwindling Maryland rockfish population. He championed Program Open Space, which preserved thousand of acres of Maryland land and wildlife. Maryland hatched more bald eagles in the next 20 years (about 1,800) than existed 20 years ago in the whole lower 48 states. Brown also spearheaded Ocean City

beach replenishment Beach nourishment (also referred to as beach renourishment, beach replenishment, or sand replenishment) describes a process by which sediment, usually sand, lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from other sources. A wider beach c ...

working with local property owners.
Brown served as chairman of the Power Plant Research Advisory Committee and a vocal member of the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

As CEO

In 1998 Brown returned to his roots as a researcher. He co-founded a biotech firm called Intralytix Inc. He directed the company's effort to find useful applications for

Bacteriophage A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a phage (), is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. The term is derived . Bacteriophages are composed of proteins that Capsid, encapsulate a DNA or RNA genome, and may have structu ...

s or "phages". A phage is a virus that infects and devours bacteria. With more bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, Brown felt that the use of bacteria's naturally occurring enemy would ultimately surpass the use of lab-invented antibiotics which over time become ineffective in their original doses. Brown wanted to adopt existing knowledge about phage therapies and use them in the United States.

Death

Brown died of heart disease on April 20, 2014, at the age of 77.

Legacy

On the day of his death, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley ordered Maryland flags be flown at half-staff. A hiking trail, the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail, that extends from Maryland into

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, is named in his honor. In 2008, Brown received the Woodrow Wilson Award, an award given to Hopkins' alumni for distinguished public service, from the Johns Hopkins University alumni association.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Torrey C. Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Baltimore Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Illinois Physicians from Baltimore 1937 births 2014 deaths Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Severna Park, Maryland University of Chicago Laboratory Schools alumni 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly State cabinet secretaries of Maryland