Mackinac County MI
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Mackinac County MI
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Bio and Photo by Tim Crutchfield at Find-A-Grave
Prentiss Marsh Brown, a Representative and a Senator from Michigan; born in St. Ignace, Mackinac County, Mich., June 18, 1889; attended the public schools, and the University of Illinois at Urbana; graduated from Albion (Mich.) College in 1911; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1914 and commenced practice in St. Ignace, Mich.; prosecuting attorney of Mackinac County 1914-1926; city attorney of St. Ignace 1916-1928; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1924 to the Sixty-ninth Congress and for election in 1928 as justice of the Michigan Supreme Court; member of the State board of law examiners 1930-1942; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third Congress; reelected to the Seventy-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1933, until his resignation, effective November 18, 1936; elected as a Democrat on November 3, 1936, to the United States Senate for the term beginning January 3, 1937, but was subsequently appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Couzens for the term ending January 3, 1937, and served from November 19, 1936, to January 3, 1943; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1942; chairman, Committee on Claims (Seventy-seventh Congress); administrator in the Office of Price Administration 1943; resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C., and Detroit, Mich.; chairman of the Mackinac Bridge Authority until his death; resided in St. Ignace, Mich., where he died December 19, 1973; interment in Lakeside Cemetery.
(August 29, 2007) - Prentiss Marsh Brown -- a St. Ignace lawyer who dreamed from boyhood of what it would take to bridge the Mackinac Straits -- is the subject of the State Bar's 32nd Michigan Legal Milestone. This program honors important cases, events, and personalities in our state's rich legal history.
Brown's accomplishments will be highlighted at a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 28 in Grand Rapids, which coincides with the Bar's Annual Meeting. The event will begin at noon at DeVos Place. A bronze plaque recalling Brown's contributions will also be unveiled and later permanently placed at a location near the bridge. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
Brown achieved prominence in his career first as prosecuting attorney for Mackinac County and then as a U.S. congressman, where he was a troubleshooter for President Franklin Roosevelt. He is best remembered as the "father of the Mackinac Bridge." He was appointed chair of the Mackinac Bridge Authority in 1950 and remained so until his death in 1973. Through his leadership, financing and building plans began to take shape. He and his colleagues overcame many financing obstacles, eventually funding the construction through the sale of revenue bonds. The bridge was completed in 1957 at a cost of just under $100 million.
The incoming president of the State Bar of Michigan, Ronald D. Keefe, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Photo of Headstone by "Dave" at Find-A-Grave |
Democrat Congressman from Michigan. He served in the US House of Representatives from 1933-1936 and was appointed to
the US Senate in 1936 upon the death of James Couzens. He served until 1943.
