The Honourable George Brown was a Canadian politician, born in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland on the 29th of November 1818. He was a British-Canadian journalist, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation who attended the Charlottetown (September 1864) and Quebec (October 1864) conferences.
His father, Peter Brown, ran a wholesale business in Edinburgh and managed a Glassworks in Alloa. His mother was Marianne (née Mackenzie). George was their eldest son; he had two older sisters, two younger sisters and four younger brothers, although three of the brothers died in infancy. He was baptised in St. Cuthbert's Chapel of Ease. He lived in Alloa from 1818 until 1826, when he was moved to Edinburgh.
He attended Royal High School, Edinburgh, then transferred to the Southern Academy of Edinburgh. Upon graduation his father wanted George to attend university, but George convinced his father to let him work in the family's business. He briefly lived in London to be taught by agents of the business before returning to Edinburgh. He joined the Philo-Lectic Society of Edinburgh, where young men would meet and discuss topics in a parliamentary debate. He moved to New York with his Father and later to Canada to publish a newspaper there.
A noted reform politician, he is best known as the founder and editor of the Toronto Globe, Canada's most influential newspaper at the time, and his leadership in the founding of the Liberal Party in 1867. He was an articulate champion of the grievances and anger of Upper Canada (Ontario). He played a major role in securing national unity. His career in active politics faltered after 1865, but he remained a powerful spokesman for the Liberal Party.
Brown was against slavery and believed that the largest fault of the United States was the enslavement of people in American southern states. He was part of the Elgin Association, a group of mostly Free Kirk people that purchased land in Kent County for escaped slaves to live on. He also wrote editorials in The Globe defending a settlement of escaped slaves in Buxton from hostile white inhabitants in Kent. He was also an executive member of the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada.
Brown served in office in Canada:
Premier of Canada West - In office August 2, 1858 – August 6, 1858
Senator for Lambton, Ontario - In office December 16, 1873 – May 9, 1880
Brown's residence, formerly called Lambton Lodge and now called George Brown House, at 186 Beverley Street, Toronto, was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974.
It is now operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust as a conference centre and offices.
Brown also maintained an estate, Bow Park, near Brantford, Ontario. It was a cattle farm during Brown's time and is currently a seed farm. Toronto's George Brown College (founded 1967) is named after him. A statue of Brown can be found on the front west lawn of Queen's Park and another on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (sculpted by George William Hill in 1913).
George Brown appears on a Canadian postage stamp issued on August 21st, 1968.