I . Arthur Whitten Brown
(1886–1948)
a Scottish pilot. In 1919 he and John Alcock were the first people to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland in Canada to the west coast of Ireland. Brown was made a knight in 1919.
II . ‘Capability’ Brown
( real name Lancelot Brown 1716–83)
a British gardener and architect who designed the gardens of many great houses and parks, including Blenheim Palace and Chatsworth . He is famous for designing gardens to look natural rather than formal. He was known as ‘Capability’ Brown because he told people that their gardens had ‘great capabilities’, meaning that they were capable of being greatly improved in design.
III . Charlie Brown
the main character in the US comic strip Peanuts . He is a child who has bad luck with the important things in life (such as baseball), worries that his friends do not respect him and is too shy to speak to the girl he loves.
IV . Ford Madox Brown
(1821–93)
a British artist. He was a friend of the Pre-Raphaelites and his style of painting was similar to theirs. His best-known works are The Last of England (1852–5) and Work (1852–65), which is full of realistic details.
V . Gordon Brown
(1951– )
a British Labour politician. He became a Member of Parliament in 1983 and held several important positions in the Labour Shadow Cabinet before becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour government of 1997.
VI . Helen Gurley Brown
(1922– )
a US writer and journalist. She became editor of the magazine Cosmopolitan in 1965 and changed it from a general magazine into one for women with articles about ‘the new woman’, love and sex. Although she was criticized for this, Cosmopolitan became more popular and other women’s magazines copied it. Brown also wrote the books Sex and the Single Girl (1962) and Having It All (1982).
VII . James Brown
(1928– )
a US singer and writer of soul music. He is known for his great energy on stage. He received Grammy awards for the songs Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (1965) and Living in America (1986). He spent some time in prison (1988–91) for violence and having a gun.
VIII . Jim Brown
(1936– )
a US football player and actor. He played for the Cleveland Browns, and scored more touchdowns (= taking the ball across the opponents’ line) during his career (1957–66) than any player had ever done. He was chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. His films include The Dirty Dozen (1967).
IX . John Brown
(1800–59)
an American abolitionist. On 16 October 1859 he led a group of his supporters to occupy a building containing military weapons in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He was captured, put on trial and hanged. During the American Civil War, northern soldiers sang a song called John Brown’s Body to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic . It is still sung in the US and contains the lines:
John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on.