John Carter Brown
John Carter Brown II was a book collector whose library formed the basis of the John [Carter Brown Library] at Brown University.
Early life
John Carter Brown II was born in 1797, the youngest of three surviving children born to Nicholas Brown Jr., the namesake patron of Brown University, and Ann Carter, daughter of John Carter, a prominent printer in Providence. His grandfather was Nicholas Brown Sr., brother of John Brown, Moses Brown, and Joseph Brown, merchants, active in Rhode Island politics, who brought the College of Rhode Island to Providence in 1771.During his upbringing, he was taught philanthropy and public leadership by his father and his uncles who were involved with such work. He attended Brown University and graduated in 1816. His graduation oration was on "The Revolution of Empires."
Career
In 1822, John Carter Brown was sent to Europe as a super-cargo for Brown & Ives. After being shipwrecked in France, he turned the business trip into a two-year grand tour. Dr. Benjamin Carter, his uncle, was an important influence in introducing John Carter Brown to "the great subject," the interaction between the old and new worlds.After his father's death in 1841, John Carter Brown had the freedom to withdraw from Brown & Ives affairs and to develop his passion for books. In fact, he was continuing a family tradition as his ancestors had been buying books since 1749, helping to found the Providence Library in 1758 and 83 years later, the Providence Athenaeum. In 1846, he bought his elder brother's collection of books on the Americas and began purchasing books in Europe, using Henry Stevens as his agent. The same year, he bought the collection of Frenchman Henri Ternaux. When his collection became too large, he expanded his house, the Nightingale-Brown House, by adding a modern fireproof library; he also hired a full-time librarian, John Russell Bartlett, to manage the collection and produce its first catalogue.
In 1846, he became the first American to join the Hakluyt Society as a charter member, and in 1855, he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society. In 1852, he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Brown University.
Personal life
In 1859, at the age of 62, he married Sophia Augusta Brown, a descendant of Roger Williams. Together, they had:- John Nicholas Brown I, who married Natalie Bayard Dresser
- Harold Brown, who married Georgette Wetmore Sherman, daughter of William Watts Sherman by his first wife, in 1892, and niece of Sen. George Peabody Wetmore.
- Sophia Augusta Brown, who married William Watts Sherman in 1885, after the death of his first wife in 1884.