William Jethro Brown

William Jethro Brown was born on 29 March 1868 at Mintaro, South Australia, son of James Brown, farmer, and his wife Sophia Jane, née Torr.[1]

Between 1882 and 1886 Brown attended Moonta Mines State School as a pupil-teacher, before transferring to St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Law with first-class honours in 1890.[2]  He also received a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Laws from Cambridge, followed by a Doctor of Laws and a Doctor of Letters from Dublin University.[3]  In 1891 he was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple, London.[4]

One of three foundation lecturers at the University of Tasmania, Brown was appointed to teach law and modern history in 1892.  By 1896 he had been promoted to Professor at the University, and just two years later he temporarily occupied the Chair of Law at Sydney.[6]

In May 1900, Brown left Hobart to return to England to become Professor of Constitutional Law at University College London, holding the position from 1900-01.[7]  During this time he married Aimée Marie Loth on the 14 August 1900.[8] 

In 1901-06, he was Professor of Constitutional and Comparative Law at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.[9]

After returning to Adelaide in 1906, he took up the position of Professor of Law at the University of Adelaide until 1916.[10]  Following his retirement from the University, Brown became President of the Industrial Court of South Australia.[11]

Dr Brown retired in 1927 and died on 27 May 1930.[12]

Footnotes:

1. Roe, M 1979, 'Brown, William Jethro (1868–1930)', Australian dictionary of biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy (vol. 7), accessed online 31 October 2022, <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brown-william-jethro-5393/text9133>.  

2. Roe, M 1977, William Jethro Brown: an Australian progressive 1868-1930, University of Tasmania, Hobart, p. 2. 

3. Roe, M 1979, 'Brown, William Jethro (1868-1930)', Australian dictionary of biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy (vol. 7), accessed online 16 December 2022, <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brown-william-jethro-5393/text9133>. 

4. Brown, CMA 1983, William Jethro Brown: a personal biography and a bibliography, Cyril M. A. Brown, South Perth, W.A., p. 19. 

5. University of Tasmania 1892, 'Appointment Indenture for William Jethro Brown, lecturer in law and moden history', University Collection, University of Tasmania Library Special and Rare Collections, accessed online 16 December 2022, <https://sparc.utas.edu.au/index.php/william-jethro-brown>. 

6. Roe, M 1979, 'Brown, William Jethro (1868–1930)', Australian dictionary of biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy (vol. 7), accessed online 31 October 2022, <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brown-william-jethro-5393/text9133>.  

7. Brown, CMA 1983, William Jethro Brown: a personal biography and a bibliography, Cyril M. A. Brown, South Perth, W.A., p. 28. 

8. Brown, CMA 1983, William Jethro Brown: a personal biography and a bibliography, Cyril M. A. Brown, South Perth, W.A., p. 25.

9. Brown, CMA 1983, William Jethro Brown: a personal biography and a bibliography, Cyril M. A. Brown, South Perth, W.A., p. 29.

10. Brown, William Jethro [Staff card]. University of Adelaide. University Archives, Series 0587, accessed 31 October 2022, <https://connect.adelaide.edu.au/nodes/view/22452>. 

11. Roe, M 1979, 'Brown, William Jethro (1868–1930)', Australian dictionary of biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy (vol. 7), accessed online 31 October 2022, <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brown-william-jethro-5393/text9133>.  

12. The Mercury 1930, 'Obituary', The Mercury, 7 June, p. 8, viewed 31 October 2022, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29800221>. 

Image:

Hammer & Co. studio portrait, c. 1928, William Jethro Brown. Image from State Library of South Australia, Portrait Collection, item B 21984/1.