Brown, Virginia Mae (1923–1991)
Brown, Virginia Mae (1923–1991)
American lawyer and chair of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Born in Pliny, Virginia, in 1923; died in Charleston, West Virginia, on February 24, 1991; graduated from University of West Virginia (Morgantown), 1945; graduated from University of West Virginia School of Law, 1947; married; children: two daughters.
Following the independent spirit of her mother, who was the president of a small bank, Virginia Mae Brown passed the bar in 1947 before many woman were practicing law. Hers would be a career dominated by firsts. She was the first woman executive secretary to the Judicial Council of West Virginia (1944–1952); she was also the first woman to be an assistant attorney general (1952–61) and the first to be appointed state insurance commissioner (1962).
While raising her two daughters, Brown served as council to the governor of West Virginia and as a member of the state public-utilities commission. Though surprised in 1964 when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her to serve on the 11-member Interstate Commerce Commission, she was well prepared. She chaired the commission from 1969 to 1970, during which time she fought to maintain public rail transportation in spite of claims of decreased ridership, and she broke with tradition by forbidding ICC employees to accept free trips or other gifts. Her tenure ended with the election of Richard Nixon.