Henry Billings Brown lived from March 2, 1836 to September 4, 1913 and was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1891 to 1906. Although a respected lawyer and United States district judge before ascending to the high court, Brown is harshly criticized for writing the majority opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, an opinion widely regarded as one of the most ill-considered decisions ever issued by the Court, which upheld the legality of racial segregation in public transportation. Plessy legitimized existing state laws establishing racial segregation and provided an impetus for later segregation statutes, erasing legislative achievements won during Reconstruction through its separate but equal doctrine.
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RoleAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States 2 Nationality / Jurisdiction BirthplaceLee, Massachusetts, U.S. 2 Place of DeathBronxville, New York, U.S. 2 Classification
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What case is Henry Billings Brown best known for?
He is best known for writing the majority opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 decision upholding racial segregation.
Henry Billings Brown is best known, and widely criticized, for writing the 1896 majority opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court decision that upheld the legality of racial segregation under the separate but equal doctrine. The ruling attracted little attention at the time but came to be condemned in the twentieth century as one of the Court's most ill-considered decisions, and it was effectively overruled by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
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Source Plessy v. Ferguson (Wikipedia)
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Source Henry Billings Brown (Wikipedia)Lead sentence 1tier 2Quote, Lead sentence 1
Henry Billings Brown (March 2, 1836 – September 4, 1913) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1891 to 1906.
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1. Henry Billings Brown (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFull article, gender
His was a New England merchant family, as his family was of entire English Puritan descent, emigrating following the Puritan migration to New England (1620-1640).
Full article, field of law
In addition to his private law practice, at times between 1861 and 1868 Brown served as Deputy U.S. Marshal, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, and to fill an opening was appointed judge of the Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit, although he only served briefly in that position and lost an election for a full term.
View the Source 2. Henry Billings Brown (Wikipedia)
WikipediaInfobox: birth_place
Lee, Massachusetts, U.S.
Infobox: death_place
Bronxville, New York, U.S.
Introduction
Henry Billings Brown (March 2, 1836 - September 4, 1913) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1891 to 1906.
View the Source Wikidata: Henry Billings Brown
Wikidata Q1606519 self-citation (QID resolved for a previously unsourced jurist)
P31 (instance of): human; QID resolved and verified for this jurist (Henry Billings Brown)
- In Legal System: Law of the United States, Henry Billings Brown (March 2, 1836, September 4, 1913) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of th
View the SourcePlessy v. Ferguson (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationWorks Attributed: Plessy v Ferguson, Infobox majority field: BrownView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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