Henry Billings Brown

Henry Billings Brown (born South Lee, Massachusetts, March 2, 1836; died Bronxville, New York, September 4, 1913) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from January 5, 1891 to May 28, 1906. He is perhaps best known today as the author of the opinion for the Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, the famous decision that upheld the legality of racial segregation in public transportation. Brown grew up in a New England merchant's... more

Henry Billings Brown (born South Lee, Massachusetts, March 2, 1836; died Bronxville, New York, September 4, 1913) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from January 5, 1891 to May 28, 1906. He is perhaps best known today as the author of the opinion for the Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, the famous decision that upheld the legality of racial segregation in public transportation. Brown grew up in a New England merchant's family. He graduated from Yale in 1856, and received some formal legal training both at Yale and at Harvard, although he did not earn a law degree. His early law practice was in Detroit, where he specialized in admiralty law (i.e., shipping law on the Great Lakes). Brown hired a substitute to take his place in the Union Army during the Civil War, and served as United States Attorney. On March 17, 1875, Brown was nominated by President Ulysses Grant to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan vacated by... less