John Brown (September 12, 1757 August 29, 1837) was an American lawyer and statesman heavily involved with creating the State of Kentucky. Brown represented Virginia in the Continental Congress (1777 1778) and the U.S. Congress (1789 1791). While in Congress, he introduced the bill granting Statehood to Kentucky. Once that was accomplished, he was elected a U.S. Senator for Kentucky. John Brown was born in Staunton, Virginia on September 12, 1757 to Rev. John and Margaret Brown. His father was a Presbyterian minister who had immigrated from Ireland. He had a good formal education, though it was interrupted by periods of military service in the Revolutionary War. Brown first attended the Augusta Academy (now Washington and Lee University) in nearby Lexington (Virginia), then began a course of study at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).