John Brown (1736–1803) was an American merchant and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island. He was a long-term trustee of Rhode Island College, where he laid the cornerstone for its first building in 1770. The college was later renamed Brown University in honor of his family. He was named as a delegate for Rhode Island to the Continental Congress in 1784-1785 but did not attend. Brown was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1798 and served there from 1799 to 1801. He died at Providence on September 20, 1803, and is buried in the North Burial Ground there. His grandson John Brown Francis was later Governor and a U.S. Senator for Rhode Island.
External link
Last updated: 08-02-2005 01:20:17
