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Pat Brown

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U.S. Governor

The Resume

    (April 21, 1905-February 16, 1996)
    Born in San Francisco, California
    Birth name was Edmund Gerald Brown
    Attorney General (1951-59) and Governor (1959-67) of California
    Father of Governor Jerry Brown

Why he might be annoying:

    He first ran for office as a Republican, but became a liberal Democrat.
    He was an unabashed proponent of increased government spending.
    He was known for his malaprops, famously saying of a flood, 'This is the worst disaster to hit California since I was elected governor.'
    In a major political miscalculation, he helped defeat Ronald Reagan's liberal opponent in the Republican gubernatorial primary, figuring that Reagan would be the easier candidate to beat (1966).
    He lost the election partly due to concerns over his handling of student protests and the 1965 Watts riots.
    During his campaign against Reagan, he told a group of school children, 'I'm running against an actor. And you know who killed Lincoln, don't you?'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He got his nickname at age 12 when he ended a speech selling WWI Liberty Bonds with Patrick Henry's 'Give me liberty or give me death!'
    He graduated first in his class from law school.
    He and Bernice Layne were married for 66 years until his death.
    He expanded the state's college system.
    He said, 'My son asked me what I hoped to accomplish as Governor. I told him: essentially to make life more comfortable for people, as far as government can.'
    Bill Clinton said, 'More than anyone else, Pat Brown built modern California.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 26 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 22 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 21 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 64 Votes: 51.56% Annoying