Nicholas Brown I
| Nicholas Brown, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 26, 1729 Providence, Rhode Island |
| Died | May 29, 1791 (aged 61) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation |
Merchant Slave trader Philanthropist |
| Children | Nicholas Brown II |
Nicholas Brown, Sr. (July 26, 1729 – May 29, 1791) was a Providence, Rhode Island merchant, civic leader and co-signer of the charter of the College of Rhode Island in 1763 [1]. In 1771, Nicholas Brown, Sr. was instrumental in convincing Baptist authorities to locate a permanent home for the College in his hometown of Providence. In 1804, the College was renamed Brown University following a gift made by Brown's son Nicholas Brown, Jr..
Born in 1729, the third child of "Captain" James Brown II(1698-1739) and Hope Power Brown(1702-1792), Nicholas,Sr. was apprenticed to his uncle Obadiah Brown (1712-1762) from the age of 16. Just before his 21st birthday, his older brother James (1724-1750) died at sea. Nicholas took his role as head of the family very seriously, delaying his marriage to Rhoda Jenckes (1741-1783) until he was 33 years old. Following the death of his uncle Obadiah, the family business conglomerate that included maritime trade along the Eastern Seaboard, with the Caribbean and with England; a rum distillery; spermaceti candle manufacturing; an iron foundry (the Hope Furnace); and a network of shops, was renamed Nicholas Brown & Co. Until 1771, Nicholas, Sr. worked in partnership with his three younger brothers Joseph(1733-1785), John (1736-1803), and Moses (1738-1836), who were known in Rhode Island annals as the "Four Brothers." Thereafter, the brothers continued to collaborate on ventures but were not longer partners.
Nicholas, Sr. served in the Rhode Island Legislature and became a civic leader, funding or fundraising for the paving of Providence streets, a library, a market house, the College of Rhode Island's first building, the First Baptist Church, a fire engine and other civic improvements. During the Revolution, he speculated in war bonds, supplied the Continental Army with gunpowder and foodstuffs, transformed the Hope Furnace into cannon works, and funded several privateering ventures. During the post-war "critical period," Nicholas, Sr. was a leader of the Federalist faction in Rhode Island that opposed paper money and supported ratifying the U.S. Constitution.
Shortly after taking over the family business, Nicholas, Sr. ordered a nine-and-a half foot mahoganny desk-and-bookcase crafted by the John Goddard workshop of the Newport, Rhode Island. It was sold for his descendant, Nicholas Brown VI by Christie's Auctioneers on June 3rd, 1989 for $12,100,000, the highest price ever paid for a piece of decorative art at that date, to fund the restoration of the Nightingale-Brown House, which today is the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University.
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