Elmer Ellsworth Brown, 5th U.S. Commissioner of Education

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Elmer Ellsworth Brown

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Kiantone, Chautauqua County, New York, United States
Death: November 03, 1934 (73)
New York, New York County, New York, United States
Place of Burial: Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Russell McCrary Brown and Electa Louise Sherman
Husband of Fanny Fosten Eddy
Brother of Isaac Eddy Brown; Lida Antoinette Brown and Lillian May Brown

Occupation: Educator, author, publisher, government official
Managed by: Chad Bouldin
Last Updated:

About Elmer Ellsworth Brown, 5th U.S. Commissioner of Education

Elmer Ellsworth Brown was an American educator, publisher, and author who served as the U.S. Commissioner of Education and founded the NYU Press.

Born at Kiantone in Chautauqua County, New York, he studied at New York University (NYU), graduated from Illinois State Normal University in 1881 and at the University of Michigan (A.B., 1889); then he studied in Germany and received a Ph.D. from the University of Halle in 1890.

He was principal of public schools in Belvidere, Illinois, in 1881-84, assistant state secretary of the Y. M. C. A. of Illinois (1884–87), and principal of the high school at Jackson, Michigan, in 1890–91. He taught education at the University of Michigan (1891–93) and at the University of California, Berkeley (1893–1906). After directing the reorganization of the Bureau of Education as U.S. Commissioner of Education (1906–11), he became chancellor of New York University, where he founded NYU Press in 1916 "to publish contributions to higher learning by eminent scholars."

He was made fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and vice president of the education section in 1907. He led the Andiron Club from 1916 to 1922 and was associated with the Eucleian Society. Brown retired from NYU in 1933 and died in 1934 in New York.

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Elmer Ellsworth Brown, 5th U.S. Commissioner of Education's Timeline

1861
August 28, 1861
Kiantone, Chautauqua County, New York, United States
1934
November 3, 1934
Age 73
New York, New York County, New York, United States
November 3, 1934
Age 73
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States