Brown, Jerry

Brown, (Edmund Gerald, Jr.) Jerry

(1938–  ) governor, political maverick; born in San Francisco. The son of California governor “Pat” Brown, he studied at a Jesuit novitiate (1956–60). Torn between contemplation and action, he became a lawyer (1964), then served as secretary of state (1970–74) and governor (Dem., 1975–83) of California. As governor, he was known for turning down many perks of office; he would later spend some time in Japan studying Zen Buddhism. During his runs in the 1976 and 1992 Democratic presidential primaries, he campaigned as an "outsider" in politics, stressing the need to eliminate "big money" influence in government, but his populist message was canceled out by what was perceived as his "spacey" manner.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.