William Adams Brown

William Adams Brown (December 29, 1865 – December 15, 1943) was an American minister, professor and philanthropist.

Early life

Brown was born in New York City on December 29, 1865, and named after his maternal grandfather, the Rev. William Adams.[1] He was the eldest son of John Crosby Brown and Mary Elizabeth Adams Brown. His siblings were Eliza Coe Adams,[2] Mary Magoun Brown,[2] James Crosby Brown, Thatcher Magoun Brown, and Amy Brighthurst Brown (1878–1960).[2]

His father was a merchant banker and partner in Brown Bros. & Co., an investment bank founded by his grandfather and grand-uncles, including George Brown and Sir William Brown, 1st Baronet.[3]

Brown graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire before attending Yale University where he received an A.B. degree in 1886, an A.M. degree in 1888 and a PhD in 1901. He also graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1890 and was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in 1893. He also studied with Adolf von Harnack at the University of Berlin from 1890 to 1892.[4]

Career

After returning to the United States in 1892, Brown joined the faculty of Union Theological Seminary as an instructor of Church History. Less than a year later, he was asked him to shift fields and teach Systematic Theology. Within five years, he was named Roosevelt Chair of Systematic Theology.[4] He retired in 1936.[5]

Brown served as chairman of the Presbyterian Church's Home Missions Committee, through which he organized and ran the American Parish on the Upper East Side and the Labor Temple in the East Village neighborhoods of Manhattan. He was also instrumental in the founding of Union Settlement in East Harlem where he was largely responsible for fundraising. Union Settlement is one of the oldest settlement houses in New York City and is East Harlem's largest social service agency serving the poor.[4]

He was a member of the Yale Corporation from 1917 to 1934, and was acting president of Yale University from 1919 to 1920.[6]

Personal life

In 1892, Brown was married to Helen Gilman Noyes (1867–1942), a daughter of Daniel Rogers Noyes and Helen Abia (née Gilman) Noyes. The family lived at 49 East 80th Street in New York City and had a summer home on Mount Desert Island in Maine where they befriended many prominent people, including Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard, Seth Low, president of Columbia and later Mayor of New York, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. They had four children:

Brown died in New York City on December 15, 1943.[11][12][13]

References

  1. ↑ Sokolow, Daniel (July 1995). "John Crosby Brown Papers, 1876 – 1909" (PDF). www.columbia.edu. The Burke Library Archives, Union Theological Seminary. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Brown, Sally B. (2018). A Gift of Sound: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 8. ISBN 9781588396365. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  3. ↑ Brown, Mary Elizabeth (1917). Alexander Brown and His Descendants, 1764–1916. East Orange, N.J.: Abbey Print. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sokolow, Daniel (August 1995). "William Adams Brown Papers, 1865–1938]" (PDF). www.columbia.edu. The Burke Library Archives of Union Theological Seminary. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ "DR. WILLIAM A. BROWN TO LEAVE SEMINARY; Member of Union Faculty for 44 Years Will Retire at the Age of 70". The New York Times. May 1, 1936. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  6. ↑ Brown, William Adams (1940). A Teacher and His Times: A Story of Two Worlds. New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons.
  7. ↑ "JOHN C. BROWN, 57, PUBLICIST, IS DEAD; Head of Firm Here Which Had Managed Huge Fund-Raising Campaigns in Recent Years". The New York Times. July 27, 1950. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  8. ↑ "WINTHROP BROWN, EX-ENVOY TO LAOS, KOREA, DIES AT 79". Washington Post. May 27, 1987. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Winthrop G. Brown, Ex-State Dept. Official". The New York Times. May 27, 1987. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Obituary – BROWN". The New York Times. September 27, 1928. p. 24. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  11. ↑ "W. A. BROWN DIES; MINISTER 50 YEARS; Presbyterian Leader, Former Union Seminary Professor, on Yale Corporation". The New York Times. December 16, 1943. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Dr. W. A. Brown Rites Tomorrow". The New York Times. December 17, 1943. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  13. ↑ "CLERGY AT SERVICE FOR DR. W. A. BROWN; Rites of Ex-Professar at Union Seminary Held in Brick Church". The New York Times. December 19, 1943. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
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