Administrative Information

Access

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

William N. Brown Account Book, mss 00028, Virginia Military Institute Archives, Lexington, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to the Virginia Military Institute by the Arlington (VA) Historical Society in 1976.

Biographical/Historical Information

William Nelson Brown was born near Gainesville, Virginia on August 21, 1873. His parents were William Henry Brown (born Alexandria, VA) and Mary Love Elliot (born Washington, DC). Brown entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1889 and graduated in 1893. He married Caroline Cator Taylor of Bradshaw, Indiana, on Ocotber 26, 1901. The couple had two children--William Taylor and Mary Venable.

Brown spent his entire career as a Civil Engineer, and became a leading national figure in the fields of surveying and mapping. He was one of the first in his profession to use aerial photography and he managed large mapping projects for both government agencies and private firms. One of his most significant assignments was the mapping of the Mississippi River in 1929 for use in a flood control project. Brown died in Washington, DC on January 12, 1959.

Scope and Content Information

The William N. Brown account book contains a listing of school expenses incurred while Brown was a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, 1889-1893.