Darius A. Brown

Darius Alvin Brown (alternatively Darious; November 3, 1869 – November 3, 1938) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he served as the 36th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri from 1910 to 1912.

Early life and early career Darius Alvin Brown was born on November 3, 1869, in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. At age six, he and his family moved to Topeka to avoid prairie fires caused by drought. Throughout his childhood, he worked as a paperboy and shoeshiner, and during summers, was a drover and transported sand and gravel. He attended public school in Topeka, graduating high school at age 16.

After high school, Brown worked for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and played the clarinet for an opera house at night. He was an aspiring actor, though shifted to law after meeting Charles Curtis, who was a district attorney at the time. Beginning in 1891, he studied at the University of Michigan Law School, by suggestion of some Topeka lawyers. He subsidized himself by working again as a clarinetist, as well as a stenographer.

Career in Kansas City Brown moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1891, In 1905, he was appointed court stenographer, In 1908, he was elected alderman from the Fifth Ward, as which he challenged a local streetcar company. This made him popularity among the people of Kansas City, so he entered the Republican primaries for mayor of Kansas City. He won the primaries with the largest number of votes in the city's history, at the time.

On November 6, 1928, Brown returned to serving on the Circuit Court (as its only Republican seat), which he held until his death.

Politically, Brown was progressive. He also urged working women to fight for better wages while speaking at a Loyal Order of Moose event, on July 19, 1916.

Personal life and death On February 9, 1899, Brown married Nellie Prescott Brown (died 1937); they two children together. He was a member of Loyal Order of Moose, which he served as "supreme dictator" of in 1920. He was also a member of the Shriners, and held every one of its offices at his local shrine.

On November 2, 1938, he underwent prostate surgery at the Research Medical Center, and on November 3, he died from pneumothorax; his doctors described his circumstances of death as unusual. He died on his 69th birthday. His term as judge was to expire on July 1, 1941.