© 2024 South Carolina Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

"B" is for Brown, Edgar Allan (1888-1975)

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"B" is for Brown, Edgar Allan (1888-1975). Legislator. At the age of sixteen Brown learned shorthand and became a stenographer. In 1910 he passed the state bar exam. He represented Barnwell County in the House of Representatives (1921-1926) and served one term as Speaker. Brown was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1928 and remained there until his retirement in 1972. Politically, Brown was one of the most powerful men in state government. For thirty years (1942-1972) he was both president pro tempore of the Senate and chairman of the finance committee. As such, he played an instrumental role in state financial matters. A fiscal conservative, Edgar Allan Brown helped create the Budget and Control Board and was credited with keeping South Carolina on a sound financial footing with a triple “A” credit rating.

Stay Connected
Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.