Jefferson Beale Browne (June 6, 1857 – May 4, 1937) was a public official and legislator who also served as a justice of the Florida Supreme Court from 1917 to 1925, including service as chief justice from 1917 to 1923.

[3] As a lighthouse keeper, Browne was able to dedicate his long hours of isolation to studying the law.

[5] Browne thereafter had "a hopscotch career", including stints as a "county surveyor, postmaster, city attorney, president of the Florida Senate, U.S. Customs collector at the port of Key West, chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, and chairman of the Florida Railroad Commission".

[5] While serving in this office, he introduced an 1893 bill to grant Henry Flagler's Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Indian River Railway a charter to extend the railroad to the Florida Keys.

He wrestled with the concept of prohibition of alcohol, a major political issue during his time on the court, writing of an inclination to support laws addressing the negative effects of alcohol consumption, but ultimately deciding that protecting personal property rights against government interference was an overriding concern.