Brown was born on November 5, 1942, in Norfolk, Virginia , and grew up in East Orange, New Jersey . In 1960, Brown graduated from East Orange High School . ^[1] He received an A.B. from Hamilton College . ^[2] In 1967, he graduated with a LL.B. with distinction from Cornell Law School , where he was Managing Editor of the Cornell Law Review . ^[3]

After graduation, he served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1967-1968 Term. ^{[4] [5]} In 1968, Brown joined Covington & Burling 's Washington, D.C., office. From 1970, he held a series of federal government appointments and staff positions at the United States Senate , and then several corporate posts in publishing. From 1974 to 1977, he was an attorney at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Brown to the Federal Communications Commission, succeeding Benjamin Hooks . ^{[6] [7]} Initially, Brown declined the offer for the 21 months left on the term over concern on reappointment. ^[8] Hamilton Jordan , an aide to Carter, persuaded Brown to accept. ^[7] After approval by the Senate, Brown began his term on November 15, 1977, while continuing his participation in civil rights advocacy. ^{[9] [10]}

One of his goals as commissioner was to increase minority ownership of broadcasting stations. ^[11] In 1978, he opposed dropping "public interest" from the FCC's consideration for broadcast licenses. ^[12] On June 11, 1979, Carter nominated Brown for reappointment to the FCC for a seven-year term and he was confirmed. ^[13] On January 31, 1981, Brown resigned from the Commission following the election of President Ronald Reagan , and was replaced by Mark S. Fowler . ^{[14] [15] [16] [17]}

Later, Brown practiced law at Steptoe & Johnson and at Wiley Rein LLP , as well as serving as president of the Media Access Project from 2010 to 2013. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Chief Justice)

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• The HistoryMakers video oral history with Tyrone Brown (2016).
• Interview of Tyrone Brown (15:52 mins), Cornell Law School, April 14, 1988.