John William Brown

John William Brown (born December 28, 1913, in Athens, Ohio; died October 29, 1993, in Medina, Ohio)citation
first=Brian
last=Usher
editor-last =Lamis
editor-first =Alexander P.
editor2-last =Usher
editor2-first =Brian
title=Ohio Politics: Revised and Updated
year=2007
pages=65-67
place =Kent, Ohio
publisher=The Kent State University Press
isbn=978-0-87338-613-5] was a Republican politician from Ohio. He briefly served as the 58th Governor of Ohio from January 3, 1957 to January 14, 1957 and served as lieutenant governor of Ohio in two separate tenures.

Brown served as mayor of Medina from 1950 to 1953. In 1952, he unseated the incumbent lieutenant governor, Democrat George D. Nye and took office as lieutenant governor in 1953. (At the time, the office of lieutenant governor was elected separately from the office of Governor of Ohio). Brown defeated Nye again in 1954 to win a second two-year term.

In January 1957, during Brown's second term as lieutenant governor, Frank J. Lausche, the Democratic governor of Ohio, resigned in order to take a seat in the United States Senate, which he had won in the 1956 election. Brown, thus, was elevated to the office of governor. Lausche's successor, C. William O'Neill, had already been elected; however, at the time, the U.S. Senate term began on January 3, but the Ohio gubernatorial term did not end until the 14th.found on page 65 ]

Into the breach stepped the outgoing lieutenant governor. Brown took his eleven-day-long governorship very seriously. He moved into the governor's mansion, summoned the General Assembly to hear his state of the state address, demanded and received the governor's salary for the eleven days, and deposited five boxes of gubernatorial papers with the Ohio Historical Society.Found on page 65 ] Among papers was a letter, on gubernatorial letter-head, to Columbus mayor, M. E. Sensenbrenner, asking him to take care of a parking ticket.Found on page 66 ] There was also a letter to then President Nixon asking for a federal job after his eleven days in the governor's office were complete.Found on page 66 ]

In 1958, Brown was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served from 1959-1960. He won election to the Lieutenant Governorship again in 1962, and served another three terms (by this time, the lieutenant governor's term had been extended to four years), from 1963-1975. In 1974, Brown lost his bid for another term to Richard F. Celeste.Found on page 66&67 ]

After serving as lieutenant governor, Brown worked to reactivate, and became the first commandant, of the Ohio Naval Militia.

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