He was born on January 8, 1846, in what is today East Deer Township, Pennsylvania, just north of Pittsburgh.
His first political position in Pittsburgh was director of public safety, a job he obtained in 1887.
Mayor Joseph Brown's administration battled rampant vice within the city with differing degrees of success.
The incompetence of the rank and file law enforcers in the city was displayed for everyone to see when the Biddle Brothers made a daring escape from the Pittsburgh jail.
The Frick Building was constructed on Grant Street during the Joseph Brown term.