Katherine Brown (née Whelan; November 15, 1872 – October 3, 1942) was the first female Democrat elected to the New Jersey State Legislature.
Brown organized the Democratic women of Jersey City's eighth ward immediately after the passage of the 19th Amendment and remained leader of their club until her death.
As a member of the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders (1925–1935), she was responsible for oversight of the county hospitals and institutions at Snake Hill (which she renamed Laurel Hill) and oversaw the planning and opening of the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital.
Born into a politically active family in Jersey City, she spent her early years in a block of tenements at 134-136 Dudley Street, owned by her paternal grandparents, William Whelan Sr. (c. 1820–1888) and Catherine Maher (c. 1825–1901).
In poor health by the late 1930s, she gradually withdrew from public life and died at her home, 329A Arlington Avenue, on October 3, 1942.