Wesley E. Brown

Wesley Ernest Brown (June 22, 1907 – January 23, 2012) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. At his death at age 104, he was the oldest person to serve as a federal judge in the history of the United States, actively hearing cases until approximately one month before his death.

Education and career

Born on June 22, 1907, in Hutchinson, Kansas, to Morrison (Morey) Houston Heady Brown and Julia Elizabeth Wesley Brown, Brown received a Bachelor of Laws in 1933 from the Kansas City School of Law (now the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law). He entered private practice in Hutchinson from 1933 to 1944, concurrently serving as county attorney of Reno County, Kansas from 1935 to 1939. He was the secretary of corporation and an attorney for Aircraft Woodwork Manufacturers from 1942 to 1944. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. He returned to private practice in Hutchinson from 1946 to 1958.

Federal judicial service

Bankruptcy court service Brown served as a Referee in Bankruptcy for the District of Kansas from 1958 to 1962.

Death Brown died at the age of 104 in his sleep in an assisted living facility in Wichita on January 23, 2012. He was survived by 2 children, 4 grand children and 8 great-grandchildren.