Brown, Walter Folger (1869-1961)

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Harriet Taylor Upton to Frances Alice Kellor, September 6, 1912

Something New in Politics, ca. December 1912

Harold LeClair Ickes to Jane Addams, April 18, 1914

Dorothy Detzer to Emily Greene Balch , May 21, 1929

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Birth Date

1869-05-31

Death Date

1961-01-26

Birthplace

Massillon, OH

Biographical Text

Walter Folger Brown was the Postmaster General of the United States during the Herbert Hoover administration. He attended Western Reserve Academy and Harvard University and worked as a lawyer before becoming involved in politics. Brown managed various business firms such as the Toledo Trust Company, the Cleveland Automatic Machine Company, and the National Can Company. Brown served as the Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee of Ohio in 1911 and Chairman of the National Committee of the Progressive Party in 1912. From 1911 to 1961, Brown served as president of the Toledo, Ohio Humane Society. In 1940 and 1944, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. While serving as Postmaster General, Brown became a leading figure in the Air Mail scandal, when top airlines were rewarded with contracts to carry airmail at the expense of smaller airlines. In 1933, Brown retired from politics, moved to New York and became president of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad. In 1946, he returned to Toledo and continued to work with the Toledo Humane Society and the Lucas County Child Welfare Board.

Brown married Katherin Hafer in 1903. Brown died in 1961.