Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (d. 1996)
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he was later elected Attorney General of California in 1950 before becoming the state's governor in 1959.
Born in San Francisco, Brown had an early interest in speaking and politics. He skipped college and he earned an LL.B. law degree in 1927. In his first term as governor Brown delivered on a major legislation including a tax increase and a master plan for expanded higher education. The California State Water Project was a major and highly complex achievement. He also pushed through civil rights legislation. In a second term, however, troubles mounted; including the defeat of a fair housing law, angry student demonstrations at Berkeley, a massive riot in the black neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles, and ferocious internal battles among Democrats over support or opposition to the Vietnam War. He lost his bid for a third term in 1966 to future President Ronald Reagan, but his legacy has since earned him regard as the builder of modern California. His son Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr. was the 34th and 39th Governor of California; his daughter, Kathleen Brown, was the 29th California State Treasurer.