Beriah Brown (1815-1900), originally from New York, was an editor and politician who helped establish Seattle's journalistic and educational institutions. A vocal critic of President Lincoln and devoted to preserving state's rights to choose slavery, following Lincoln's assassination Mr. Brown was forced to flee San Francisco, where he edited the Daily Democratic Press. Arriving in Seattle around 1870, he launched the Puget Sound Dispatch (later the Seattle Post-Intelligencer), served as chief clerk of the Washington legislative council, clerk of the United States Territorial District Court, and as Mayor of Seattle from 1878-1879. As president and chairman of the University of Washington board of regents, Mr. Brown supported the admission of an African American student in 1874, despite his opposition to Black suffrage.
In this image taken late in his life, Beriah Brown poses for a portrait.
Caption information source: http://crosscut.com/2015/08/the-untold-story-of-seattles-racist-mayor Caption information source: "Voters elect People's Ticket candidate Beriah Brown as mayor of the City of Seattle on July 8, 1878," by Cassandra Tate, HistoryLink.org Essay 2778
ID Number: 1989.80.1
Date: Circa 1890
Physical Description: 1 copy negative : b&w ; 4 x 5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
