Person:William Brown (505)

This is a brief note about William Brown, taken from the 1979 revision of [Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Volume 4]. The Dictionary was originally produced in print as a joint venture by the University of Toronto (English edition) and the Université Laval (French edition).

"BROWN, WILLIAM, journalist and printer; b. c. 1737 at Nunton [in the parish of Borgue), Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, son of John Brown and Mary Clark; d. unmarried 22 March 1789 at Quebec.

When he was about 15 years of age William Brown was sent to live with relatives of his mother in America, and from 1751 to 1753 he studied mathematics and classics at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. In 1754 he went into an office as clerk, and then began to learn his future trade in a printer’s shop in Philadelphia. There in 1758 he went to work for William Dunlop, who two years later entrusted him with the management of two bookshops. Dunlop, who was related to Benjamin Franklin, may have been Brown’s uncle..... He became interested in the city of Quebec, and is said to have obtained information through William Laing, a Quebec tailor and merchant. He then wrote Governor Murray for the necessary authorizations for the founding of a newspaper and for promises of moral and financial support.

On 5 Aug. 1763 Brown [and a partner] signed an agreement, each putting up capital of £72. Travelling by way of Springfield (Mass.), Albany, Lake Champlain, and Montreal, Brown reached Quebec on 30 September after many adventures.....

On 21 June 1764 the first number of the Quebec Gazette/La Gazette de Québec came out. In addition to printing jobs, the two partners in 1765 extended their activities to publishing, and they received an annual allocation of £50 from the colonial authorities for official announcements.....

After his partner’s death in 1773 Brown, who became sole owner of the business at the beginning of 1774, continued to issue many publications....."

The article continues with the progress of The Gazette during the time of the American Revolutionary War and the early years of the French Revolution. After Brown's death, The Gazette was taken over first by his nephew, Samuel Neilson and then by William's brother John Neilson.