[3] Brown was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on March 8, 1962, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Kansas vacated by Judge Delmas Carl Hill.

He served as Chief Judge from 1971 to 1977 and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1976 to 1979.

[3] His service terminated on January 23, 2012, due to his death at an assisted living facility in Wichita, Kansas.

[2] Brown had passed Judge Joseph William Woodrough in August 2011 to become the oldest person to serve as a federal judge in the history of the United States, a distinction he retains.

[4][5][6] Brown died at the age of 104 in his sleep in an assisted living facility in Wichita on January 23, 2012.