George R. Brown

in Golden, Colorado Brown was born on May 12, 1898, in Belton and moved in 1904 to Temple; both communities are in Bell County. His older brother, Herman, left Rice University after spending less than a year there and started work in road paving. Herman's brother-in-law, Dan Root, loaned Herman money in 1919 and founded Brown & Root in 1919. George R. Brown studied at Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin before he graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1922 and joined his brother in the business. The company paved roads and built bridges and other public works in Houston. ==Brown & Root, Inc.==

1936–1947 In 1936, Brown & Root was awarded a contract to construct the Marshall Ford Dam (now known as the Mansfield Dam). The construction was almost stopped in 1937 but was allowed to continue when Lyndon B. Johnson (then a very junior congressman) helped push through favorable legislation. The project was part of the New Deal and was completed in 1942. ==Legacy==

In 1951, Brown, along with his brother Herman and their wives, began the Brown Foundation. The organization donates to notable institutions such as Rice University, Southwestern University, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. As of 2018, the Brown Foundation had given away $1.6 billion. He lived in the River Oaks area of Houston, in a house built for him. In 2017 the house was on the market for $10 million. ==See also==