Pat Brown

Pat Brown
Born	Edmund Gerald Brown 4/21/1905
Birthplace	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	2/16/1996 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Lawyer, politician
Known for	32nd Governor of California, California State Water Project, California Master Plan for Higher Education
Education	San Francisco Law School (LL.B.)
Children	4
Awards	Builder of modern California infrastructure

Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. A towering figure in the state's twentieth-century political history, Brown rose from the district attorney's office in San Francisco to the attorney generalship and then to the governorship, where he oversaw an era of transformative public investment. His administration was responsible for the California State Water Project, one of the largest public works undertakings in American history, and the California Master Plan for Higher Education, which established a tiered system of public universities, state colleges, and community colleges that became a model for the nation. Brown also championed civil-rights legislation during a period of significant social change. His tenure, however, was marked in its later years by the turbulence of the 1960s — the Watts riots, the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley, and deep divisions within the Democratic Party over the Vietnam War — and he lost his bid for a third term in 1966 to Ronald Reagan. Brown's political legacy extended through his family: his son Jerry Brown served as the 34th and 39th governor of California, and his daughter Kathleen Brown served as the 29th California state treasurer.

Early Life

Edmund Gerald Brown was born on April 21, 1905, in San Francisco, California. He grew up in the city during a period of rapid growth and transformation in the American West. From an early age, Brown displayed a keen interest in public speaking and politics, traits that would shape his future career in law and government.

The nickname "Pat" stayed with Brown throughout his life and political career, becoming the name by which the public and the press most commonly knew him. His formative years in San Francisco exposed him to the diverse, rapidly urbanizing environment of early twentieth-century California, a state that was beginning to grapple with the challenges of explosive population growth, water scarcity, and the need for modern infrastructure — issues that would come to define his governorship decades later.

Brown's early political affiliations reflected the shifting landscape of American party politics in the first half of the twentieth century. He was initially a member of the Republican Party, a common affiliation for many Californians of his generation. In 1932, amid the Great Depression and the political realignment that accompanied Franklin D. Roosevelt's rise to national prominence, Brown switched his party registration to the Democratic Party, a change that would prove consequential for his political trajectory.

Rather than following a conventional path through a four-year college, Brown chose to pursue legal education directly, a route that was more common in the early decades of the twentieth century than it would later become. His decision to forgo a traditional undergraduate education did not impede his rise in the legal and political worlds; instead, it reflected a practical orientation that characterized much of his subsequent career.

Education

Brown attended the San Francisco Law School, where he earned his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1927. He bypassed a traditional four-year undergraduate education, proceeding directly to the study of law. The San Francisco Law School was a practical institution that trained aspiring lawyers for the California bar, and Brown's legal education there provided him with the foundation for a career that would span both the courtroom and the halls of government. After completing his degree, Brown entered the practice of law in San Francisco, beginning the professional career that would ultimately lead him to the highest elected offices in the state.

Career

District Attorney of San Francisco

Brown's first elected office was as the district attorney of San Francisco, a position he assumed on January 8, 1944. He succeeded Matthew Brady in the role and served as the city's chief prosecutor for nearly seven years, until January 3, 1951. As district attorney, Brown established a reputation as a competent and reform-minded prosecutor. The position gave him significant public visibility in one of California's largest and most politically important cities, and it served as a springboard for his statewide ambitions.

During his tenure as district attorney, Brown navigated the complex political environment of postwar San Francisco, a city undergoing rapid demographic and economic change. His work in the office helped build the political relationships and public profile that would prove essential in his subsequent campaigns for higher office. Upon leaving the district attorney's office, he was succeeded by Thomas C. Lynch, who would later serve as attorney general of California under Brown's governorship.

Attorney General of California

In 1950, Brown was elected as the 23rd attorney general of California, taking office on January 8, 1951. He served under two governors during his time as attorney general: Earl Warren, who departed in 1953 to become Chief Justice of the United States, and Goodwin Knight, who succeeded Warren and served as governor for the remainder of the decade. Brown succeeded Frederick N. Howser in the office and served as attorney general until January 5, 1959, when he assumed the governorship.

As attorney general, Brown was the state's chief legal officer, responsible for overseeing law enforcement and representing the state in legal matters. His eight-year tenure in the office solidified his standing as one of the leading Democrats in California and positioned him as a formidable candidate for the governorship. He was succeeded as attorney general by Stanley Mosk, who would later serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California.

Governor of California: First Term (1959–1963)

Brown won the 1958 California gubernatorial election, succeeding Goodwin Knight as governor and taking office on January 5, 1959. His lieutenant governor was Glenn M. Anderson. Brown's first term was characterized by an ambitious agenda of public investment and progressive legislation that would reshape the state for decades to come.

One of the signature achievements of Brown's first term was the passage of a significant tax increase to fund expanded public services and infrastructure. At a time when California's population was growing at a remarkable rate — fueled by postwar migration, the defense industry, and the broader economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s — Brown argued that the state needed to invest heavily in its future. The tax increase, while politically difficult, provided the revenue necessary for many of his administration's most lasting accomplishments.

California Master Plan for Higher Education

Among Brown's most consequential achievements was the California Master Plan for Higher Education, developed and enacted during his first term. The Master Plan established a comprehensive, three-tiered system of public higher education in California: the University of California system for research and graduate education, the California State University system (then known as the state colleges) for undergraduate and master's-level education, and the community college system for open-access education and workforce training. The plan guaranteed a place in the public higher education system for every California high school graduate and became a model studied and emulated by states and nations around the world.

California State Water Project

The California State Water Project was perhaps the most complex and ambitious undertaking of Brown's governorship. California's geography presented a fundamental challenge: the majority of the state's water supply was in the north, while the majority of its population and agricultural production was in the south. The State Water Project, a massive system of dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, and pumping stations, was designed to transport water from northern California to the southern part of the state and the Central Valley.

The project required enormous political skill to assemble the necessary legislative and public support. It involved negotiations among competing regional interests, agricultural and urban water users, and environmental concerns that were beginning to emerge as significant political forces. Brown championed the project as essential to California's continued growth and economic vitality, and its completion stands as one of the largest public works projects in the history of the United States.

Civil Rights Legislation

Brown also pushed through civil-rights legislation during his first term, placing California among the states that moved to address racial discrimination through law during the late 1950s and early 1960s. His administration's civil-rights agenda reflected both the growing national movement for racial equality and the particular dynamics of California, a state with significant African American, Latino, and Asian American populations.

Governor of California: Second Term (1963–1967)

Brown won reelection in 1962, defeating Richard Nixon in a race that was notable for Nixon's subsequent statement that the press would not "have Nixon to kick around anymore." Brown's second term, however, proved far more difficult than his first, as the social upheavals of the 1960s engulfed the state and the nation.

1964 California Proposition 14

A significant setback for Brown came with 1964 California Proposition 14, a ballot measure that effectively repealed the Rumford Fair Housing Act, a civil-rights law that Brown had championed. The proposition, which was approved by California voters by a wide margin, was a stinging rebuke to Brown's civil-rights agenda and exposed deep divisions in the state over the issue of housing discrimination. The measure was later struck down by the courts — the case ultimately reached the Supreme Court of the United States, which affirmed that the proposition was unconstitutional.

Berkeley Protests

The Free Speech Movement and related protests at the University of California, Berkeley, beginning in 1964, presented Brown with a political crisis that had no easy resolution. Student activists demanded greater freedom of political expression on campus, and the ensuing confrontations between students, university administrators, and law enforcement became national news. Brown found himself caught between those who sympathized with the students' demands for free expression and those who demanded that the governor restore order. The Berkeley protests became a defining issue of his second term and contributed to the growing sense among some voters that the Brown administration had lost control of events.

Watts Riots

In August 1965, the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles erupted in a major civil disturbance that lasted for several days, resulting in significant loss of life, injuries, and property destruction. The Watts riots exposed the deep racial and economic inequalities that persisted in California despite the state's progressive reputation and Brown's civil-rights efforts. The governor deployed the National Guard to restore order, but the episode damaged his political standing and underscored the limitations of his administration's approach to the problems of urban poverty and racial injustice.

Vietnam War and Democratic Divisions

The escalation of American involvement in the Vietnam War during the mid-1960s created deep fissures within the Democratic Party, both nationally and in California. Brown faced internal party battles over the war, with some Democrats supporting the policies of Lyndon B. Johnson's administration and others opposing the conflict. These divisions weakened Brown's political coalition and complicated his efforts to maintain party unity heading into the 1966 election.

1966 Gubernatorial Election

Brown sought a third term as governor in 1966 but was defeated by Ronald Reagan, a former actor and television host who was making his first run for elected office. Reagan ran on a platform that emphasized restoring order on college campuses, cracking down on crime, and reducing the size of government. The campaign capitalized on the public's frustration with the social unrest that had characterized Brown's second term. Reagan won the election decisively, ending Brown's eight-year governorship and launching his own political career, which would eventually take him to the presidency of the United States.

Post-Governorship

After leaving office in January 1967, Brown returned to the practice of law. He remained active in California Democratic politics and public life in the years following his governorship, though he never again held elected office. His post-political career included legal practice and various public engagements.

Brown's FBI file, maintained during his years of public service, was later made available through the Freedom of Information Act, documenting the federal government's interest in the activities of one of California's most prominent political figures.

Personal Life

Pat Brown had four children, including Jerry Brown, who followed his father into California politics and served as the 34th and 39th governor of California as well as the 31st attorney general of California — holding two of the same offices his father once held. His daughter Kathleen Brown served as the 29th California state treasurer and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor of California in 1994.

The Brown family's multi-generational involvement in California governance is notable in American political history, with father and son collectively serving four terms as governor of the state across several decades. The family's political lineage has been the subject of documentary and scholarly attention.

Brown died on February 16, 1996, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 90. He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.

Recognition

Brown's contributions to California's infrastructure, education system, and governance earned him recognition as one of the state's most consequential governors. His administration's accomplishments — particularly the California State Water Project and the California Master Plan for Higher Education — are frequently cited as foundational elements of modern California's economy and society.

A documentary film about Brown's life and legacy was produced to preserve the record of his governorship and its impact on the state. The film examines his political career, his major policy achievements, and the challenges he faced during the turbulent 1960s.

Brown's grandson, J. Patten "Pat" Brown III, continued the family's involvement in law and public life, establishing a legal practice that has received recognition in the legal profession.

Legacy

Pat Brown's legacy rests primarily on his role as the architect of modern California's public infrastructure and institutions. During a period of extraordinary population growth and economic expansion, Brown made the political decisions and marshaled the public resources that transformed California from a large but still-developing western state into the most populous state in the nation and one of the world's largest economies.

The California State Water Project, which Brown championed and brought to fruition, remains the backbone of the state's water delivery system, supplying water to millions of residents and vast agricultural operations in the southern half of the state. The project's construction required not only engineering achievement but also sustained political leadership, and it stands as a monument to the era of large-scale public works in American governance.

The California Master Plan for Higher Education created a system that educated generations of Californians and served as a model for public higher education systems worldwide. The plan's promise that every qualified California student would have access to affordable public higher education was a radical commitment at the time and remains a touchstone in debates over education policy.

Brown's civil-rights efforts, including the Rumford Fair Housing Act, placed California at the forefront of the national movement for racial equality, even as the backlash against those efforts — exemplified by Proposition 14 — revealed the depth of resistance to change. The Supreme Court's eventual invalidation of Proposition 14 in Reitman v. Mulkey vindicated Brown's position on fair housing, though the political cost had already been paid.

Brown's defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1966 marked a turning point in California and national politics, as the conservative movement gained momentum and the era of large-scale public investment that Brown represented began to recede. Reagan's victory in California foreshadowed his national rise and the broader rightward shift in American politics that would culminate in his election as president in 1980.

In the decades since his death, Brown has come to be regarded as the builder of modern California — a governor whose investments in water, education, and infrastructure laid the groundwork for the state's emergence as an economic and cultural powerhouse. His legacy is carried forward not only through the institutions he created but through the continuing political engagement of the Brown family in California public life.