The Willie L. Brown, Jr. Papers include Assembly Bill materials, correspondence, newspaper clippings, research files, awards, books, editorial cartoons, photographs and other materials created during his years in the California State Assembly (1965-1995).

Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. was born in 1934 in Mineola, Texas. Raised by his grandmother, Brown graduated high school in 1951, moving to San Francisco where he attended San Francisco State University, receiving a liberal studies B.A. in 1955. He studied law at University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, and became a lawyer in 1959. Brown established his own law practice shortly thereafter. In 1964, Brown was elected to the California State Assembly, beginning his thirty-year career in the Assembly (1965-1995). In 1980, Brown became Speaker of the Assembly, a post he held until 1995. Brown was elected Mayor of San Francisco in 1995, a position he held until 2003.

100 Linear Feet (75 cartons, 5 oversize boxes)

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The collection is open for research. Some materials may require the use of a computer to view digital files.