{{Short description|American book collector (1797–1874)}} {{For|the former director of the U.S. National Gallery of Art|J. Carter Brown}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Infobox person | image =John Carter Brown.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth year|1797}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|1874|06|11|1797||}} | death_place = Providence, Rhode Island, US | other_names = | known_for = | alma_mater = Brown University | occupation = Book collector | father = Nicholas Brown Jr. | spouse = {{marriage|Sophia Augusta Brown|1859|<!-- Don't add his death per template docs-->}} | children = {{hlist|John|Harold|Sophia}} | relatives = {{ubl|Nicholas Brown Sr. (grandfather)|John Carter (grandfather)}} | signature = Signature of John Carter Brown (1797–1874).png }} '''John Carter Brown II''' (1797 – June 11, 1874) was a book collector whose library formed the basis of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.<ref name="JCBLibrary"/>
==Early life== John Carter Brown II was born in 1797, the youngest of three surviving children born to Nicholas Brown Jr. (1769–1841), the namesake patron of Brown University, and Ann Carter, daughter of John Carter, a prominent printer in Providence.<ref name="JCBRIHHofF">{{cite web|title=John Carter Brown, Inducted 2012 |url=http://www.riheritagehalloffame.org/inductees_detail.cfm?iid=672 |website=www.riheritagehalloffame.org |publisher=Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame |access-date=9 February 2017 |language=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225051424/http://riheritagehalloffame.org/inductees_detail.cfm?iid=672 |archive-date=25 February 2017 }}</ref> His grandfather was Nicholas Brown Sr. (1729–1791), 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 (renamed in honor of a gift made by his father in 1804) and graduated in 1816.<ref name="JCBRIHHofF"/> 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.<ref name="JCBRIHHofF"/> left|thumb|267x267px|Bookplate (exlibris) of John Carter Brown 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.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistb American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref> In 1852, he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Brown University.<ref>{{cite news|title=Article 12 -- No Title|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1852/07/19/archives/article-12-no-title.html|access-date=9 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=19 July 1852}}</ref>
==Personal life== [[File:Sherman 5332812601 d2ce819650 o.jpg|thumb|Brown's daughter, Sophia Augusta Brown (1867–1947), second wife of William Watts Sherman, circa 1914]] In 1859, at the age of 62, he married Sophia Augusta Brown (1825–1909),<ref name="MrsJCBObit1909">{{cite news|last1=Times|first1=Special To The New York|title=Mrs. John Carter Brown.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/03/01/archives/mrs-john-carter-brown.html|access-date=9 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=1 March 1909}}</ref><ref name="MrsJCBestate1909">{{cite news|title=$30,000,000 TO MRS. SHERMAN; Reported Bulk of Mrs. John Carter Brown's Estate Goes to Daughter.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1909/03/04/101868581.html?pageNumber=1|access-date=9 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=March 4, 1909|language=en}}</ref> a descendant of Roger Williams (1603–1683). Together, they had:
* John Nicholas Brown I (1861–1900), who married Natalie Bayard Dresser (1869–1950) * Harold Brown (1863–1900),<ref name="HaroldBrownObit1900">{{cite news|title=DEATH OF HAROLD BROWN.; He Was Ill on His Arrival on the Oceanic, and Died Last Night.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/05/11/archives/death-of-harold-brown-he-was-ill-on-his-arrival-on-the-oceanic-and.html|access-date=9 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=11 May 1900}}</ref> who married Georgette Wetmore Sherman (1872–1960), daughter of William Watts Sherman (1842–1912) by his first wife, in 1892,<ref name="BrownShermanWedding1892">{{cite news|title=YESTERDAY'S WEDDINGS.; BROWN -- SHERMAN.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/10/05/archives/yesterdays-weddings-brown-sherman.html|access-date=9 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=5 October 1892}}</ref> and niece of Sen. George Peabody Wetmore.<ref name="HaroldBrownObit1900"/> * Sophia Augusta Brown (1867–1947), who married William Watts Sherman (1842–1912) in 1885, after the death of his first wife in 1884.<ref name="WWSobit">{{cite news |title=Wm. Watts Sherman Dead. Prominent in New York Society and Father of Lady Camoys |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/01/23/archives/wm-watts-sherman-dead-prominent-in-new-york-society-and-father-of.html |newspaper=New York Times |date=January 23, 1912 |access-date=2011-03-14 }}</ref>
He died on June 11, 1874, at 77 years of age.<ref name="NYTObit1874">{{cite news|title=DEATH OF JOHN CARTER BROWN.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1874/06/11/archives/death-of-john-carter-brown.html|access-date=9 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=11 June 1874}}</ref> The bulk of his estate, besides a $50,000 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|50000|1874|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) donation to Brown, was left to his children. The trustees were his wife, Robert H. Ives, Thomas P. I. Goddard, and George W. R. Matteson.<ref name="JCBEstate1874">{{cite news|title=BEQUESTS TO BROWN UNIVERSITY.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1874/06/19/archives/bequests-to-brown-university.html|access-date=9 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=19 June 1874}}</ref> In 1876, his wife had a cottage in Newport on Bellevue Avenue.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Correspondent|first1=Our Own|title=NEWPORT COTTAGE OWNERS; WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY LIVE. A BUSY SEASON ANTICIPATED BY THE HOTEL MEN RECENT ARRIVALS A FULL LIST OF ALL THE SUMMER RESIDENCES AND THEIR OWNERS.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1876/05/28/archives/newport-cottage-owners-who-they-are-where-they-live-a-busy-season-a.html|access-date=9 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=28 May 1876}}</ref>
===Philanthropy=== In addition to gladly sharing his books, he still continued to make contributions to Brown University, Butler Hospital, and the Rhode Island Hospital. He played major roles in Anti-Slavery campaigns, he became President of the Emigrant Aid Society. Before his death, he was able to amass a collection of 7,500 books.<ref name="JCBRIHHofF"/> When his oldest son died in 1900, his well-collected books were granted to Brown University with an endowment and a building.<ref name="JCBLibrary">{{cite web |title=History of the John Carter Brown library |url=https://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/pages/fr_history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219075908/http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/pages/fr_history.html |archive-date=2011-02-19 |access-date=2011-04-21}}</ref>
===Descendants=== He was the grandfather of John Nicholas Brown II (1900-1979), Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and great-grandfather of J. Carter Brown III (1934-2002), director of the National Gallery of Art.
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [https://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/pages/fr_history.html History of the John Carter Brown library], retrieved March 15, 2008
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John Carter}} Category:1797 births Category:1874 deaths John Carter Brown Category:19th-century American philanthropists Category:Brown University alumni Category:People from Providence, Rhode Island