Peter Campbell Brown

Who was Peter Campbell Brown?

Peter Campbell Brown was a corporation counsel for New York City and a Justice Department official.

Brown was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Peter Paul Brown and Ellen Campbell, and grew up in Bay Ridge. He received an A.B. from Fordham University in 1935 and LL.B. from Fordham in 1938. In 1951, he received a doctorate in law from St. Bonaventure University. After graduating from Fordham in 1938, Brown practiced law in Brooklyn until 1941. As an Army officer in World War II, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and formed a close friendship with Robert F. Wagner, Jr., who later became godfather to one of his children. In 1946, Brown was an assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York. He was first assistant in the criminal division of the Department of Justice in 1947-1948, and special assistant to the United States Attorney General in 1949-1950. In 1950, he was appointed to the Subversive Activities Control Board by President Harry S. Truman. He was the Board's chairman in 1952 and 1953.

After resigning from the Subversive Activities Control Board, Brown joined the administration of New York City mayor Robert F.