Joseph Stanley-Brown (February 3rd, 1858 - May 17th, 1941) served as private secretary to the twentieth President of the United States, James A. Garfield.

at their first meeting, prompting Brown to respond, "It's not what you can do for me, but what I can do for you, sir."

Brown would serve as Garfield's secretary during his brief presidency, controlling the office-seekers that ran rampant due to the spoils system, which Garfield's vice president Chester Arthur would eventually reform.

He went to the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University and studied geology.

Brown served as a stenographer for John Wesley Powell, the founder of the United States Geological Survey.