John Carter Brown

John Carter Brown II (1797 – June 11, 1874) was a book collector whose library formed the basis of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. His grandfather was Nicholas Brown Sr. (1729–1791), brother of John Brown, Moses Brown, and Joseph Brown, merchants, active in Rhode Island politics, who brought the College of Rhode Island to Providence in 1771.

During his upbringing, he was taught philanthropy and public leadership by his father and his uncles who were involved with such work. He attended Brown University (renamed in honor of a gift made by his father in 1804) and graduated in 1816. In 1852, he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Brown University.

Personal life

In 1859, at the age of 62, he married Sophia Augusta Brown (1825–1909), a descendant of Roger Williams (1603–1683). Together, they had:

John Nicholas Brown I (1861–1900), who married Natalie Bayard Dresser (1869–1950) Harold Brown (1863–1900), who married Georgette Wetmore Sherman (1872–1960), daughter of William Watts Sherman (1842–1912) by his first wife, in 1892, and niece of Sen. George Peabody Wetmore.

He died on June 11, 1874, at 77 years of age. The bulk of his estate, besides a $50,000 (equivalent to $ in dollars) donation to Brown, was left to his children. The trustees were his wife, Robert H. Ives, Thomas P. I. Goddard, and George W. R. Matteson. In 1876, his wife had a cottage in Newport on Bellevue Avenue.

Philanthropy In addition to gladly sharing his books, he still continued to make contributions to Brown University, Butler Hospital, and the Rhode Island Hospital. He played major roles in Anti-Slavery campaigns, he became President of the Emigrant Aid Society. Before his death, he was able to amass a collection of 7,500 books.

Descendants He was the grandfather of John Nicholas Brown II (1900-1979), Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and great-grandfather of J. Carter Brown III (1934-2002), director of the National Gallery of Art.