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I am keen to see the supposed assessment of the German observers in this question. I have never read such an assessment.But based on my understanding of expert assessment of Japanese military performance, the short answer is Yes, it was obsolete judging by the standards of modern warfare in WW2.Because this answer features personal opinions in addition to facts and expert assessments, take it with a grain of salt. (quite long but please bear with me)PreludeDuring WW2, Japan was unique in that it was the only major Asian combatant nation that boasted a formidable war machine and significant technological-military-industrial capability. Some may argue that India and Chinese were also major combatant nations due to the large number of Indian + Chinese troops involved in the war but I disagree because it is my opinion that for a nation to qualify as major combatant nation, manpower alone isn’t sufficient. That nation had to possess significant technological-military-industrial capability with a degree of self-sufficiency. Only 7 nations possessed that: the US, Nazi Germany, British Empire, the Soviet Union, France, Japan and Italy.The Japanese armed forces - its capabilities and philosophy - were not well known and well understood. Indeed, Japan was (and still is) a nation that was in every way different from European nations + the US. Japanese language, customs and traditions can be hard for non-Japanese to fully master and appreciate.Japan’s peculiarity coupled with prevalent European’s racial arrogance toward non-Europeans resulted in underestimation of the Japanese armed forces. With the exception of a few astute observers, most Westerners - both civilians + military personnel - viewed the Japanese with contempt. A stereotypical perception of a Japanese soldier was that of a monkey-like figure with buck-teeth, bespectacled, bow-legged, unkempt in ill-fitting uniforms. From this contempt stemmed the belief that Japanese fighting men were inferior and unworthy opponents to European or American fighting men.That was a belief widely held by British and American military personnel up to when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and executed their Oriental Blitzkrieg with astounding ferocity and efficiency that concluded in a sequence of resounding Japanese victories and humiliating Allied defeats. Not only did the Americans and British paid dearly for underestimating the Japanese, the bitter pills of defeat prompted a somber reevaluation of an enemy they had persistently considered inferior.The end result is eye-opening insight into the strength and weaknesses of the Japanese fighting force.Army leadership mindset and its effect on doctrines and tacticsJapanese infantry tactics in WW2 were influenced by the following factors:European influencesCombat experiencesMost importantly, the peculiar mindset of army leadersLong story short, the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) that fought in WW2 was established in response to the need to eradicate rebels opposed to Emperor Meiji who sought to modernize the nation to deter foreign intrusion.In order to create a powerful military capable of defending the nation against foreign threats, the Japanese recruited European military experts. Convinced that their army and navy had to be modeled after the best army and navy in the world, the Japanese army was modeled after the Prussian (later German) army while the Japanese navy was modeled after the British Royal Navy. Consequently, Japanese army tactics/doctrines were heavily influenced by German infantry tactics/doctrines (at least initially).First and foremost, the IJA (and to a lesser extent the IJN) displayed an unfailing faith in the value of fighting spirit. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that one salient characteristic of the IJA that distinguished it from the armies of other major powers was its overemphasis on elan and fighting spirit over other factors, including weaponry, firepower and material.This had to do with the philosophies embraced by the founding leadership of the IJA all of whom were former samurais. The samurais stressed heavily the value of seishin (fighting spirit) and hand-to-hand combat in war. Although the army composed of commoners they commanded in the Boshin War defeated the samurai rebels, they praised the samurai rebels for their unmatched elan and skills in hand-to-hand combat. At the same time, they complained bitterly based on battlefield observations or anecdotal stories about the lack of martial spirit and aggressiveness of the commoner soldiers.As a result of their entrenched mindset, army leadership insisted on rigorous spiritual training to foster bravery and aggressiveness in the foot soldiers. Enlisted men were subjected to intense physical conditioning AND - most importantly - hand to hand combat.Now, this emphasis on hand-to-hand combat was at least understandable in an era when weapons did not yet possess the mass-destruction capability back in the late 19th and early 20th century (before the advent of automatic weapons like MG and SMG, tanks, artillery).However, what was incomprehensible was the fact that such emphasis on close-range combat and fighting spirit lasted throughout the time frame that spanned the years preceding and during WW2 in which weapons with mass-killing capabilities were introduced into service around the world; and the perpetuation of that combat style stemmed from support from the highest echelon in the IJA as well as combat experience in China.This warrants an elaboration.During the years between WW1 and WW2, there were intriguing developments among the leadership of the IJA that would affect everything associated with the service: its growth, structure, weapons, doctrines and tactics.Those developments revolved around the intense disputes over the restructuring of the IJA. Essentially, IJA leadership was divided into two camps: traditionalists and reformists.The reformists consisted of reform-minded officers who had been sent to Europe as attaches and observers of modern warfare between the Entente and Central Powers. Upon returning to Japan, they sought to modernize the IJA based on their evaluation of European-style modern warfare as well as their anticipation of what future conflicts would entail.Essentially, the reformists favored modern technologies, combined-arms warfare and triangular divisions. Having witnessed the effectiveness of triangular divisions supported by artillery in Europe, the reformists argued that smaller triangular divisions had greater mobility well-suited to mobile warfare (bewegungkrieg). Also, the reduction in manpower could either be used to form more divisions or artillery units attached to infantry divisions. The reformists also foresaw that future conflict would likely be protracted war against industrially powerful enemies (such as the US, Great Britain, and Soviet Union). Fighting such a war effectively demanded effective total mobilization of all kinds of resources: industrial, economic, technological and manpower. Finally, solid logistics could not be overlooked.Opposing the reformists were traditionalists who called for maintaining a large standing army. They argued that because Japan lagged significantly behind European nations and the US in terms of industrial capacity and material resources, it would not be able to fight a protracted war effectively. However, it could win a short war by attacking the enemy with overwhelming force and dealing a crushing defeat. This in turn demanded large manpower to sustain heavy casualties and to overwhelm the enemy by the application of superior seishin and hand-to-hand combat rather than technologies and firepower.The traditionalists’ opposition to modern technologies stemmed from the following factors, of which some were valid and some were not:The IJA operated in Asia which, unlike modern industrialized Europe, was largely agrarian and without modern transportation infrastructure. The absence of paved roads, railroads and steel bridge would make movements by mechanized and motorized units extremely difficult. What was the point of using technologies if the conditions to facilitate their use did not exist in the IJA’s theater of war? Later when the IJA won numerous tactical victories against the poorly armed, led and trained Chinese troops in China and against Allied troops in the Pacific with existing outdated weaponries, their disinterest in modern weapons intensified. They thought that there was no point in investing scarce resources to create modern weapons when what they already had were more than enough to defeat their enemies.Despite the great strides they made in industrialization, Japan’s industrial capacity was surpassed by a wide margin by that of European powers and the US. The difficulty of mass production, poor quality control and lack of wherewithals for R&D made it exceedingly difficult to manufacture modern weaponries in quantities demanded by modern war.Army leaders were not only skeptical of but also disdainful of modern weaponries. Being former or descended from samurais, they preferred hand-to-hand combat, the swords or bayonets and regarded technologies as Western conceit. If anything, modern weapons took a backseat to the fighting spirit of individual soldiers. (not valid)Again, army leaders’ undying belief in the power of seishin to overcome material and technological inferiority. (questionable)All in all, the traditionalists won the disputes although with some compromises. Arsenals were built to research and build new weapons. Light and medium tanks were developed to support IJA infantry in China. Some IJA divisions were transformed from square to triangular structure. But for the most part, the philosophies, and consequently doctrines and tactics of the IJA remained largely unchanged: an overemphasis on hand-to-hand combat AND superior seishin and aggressiveness.Japanese infantry tacticsThe afore-described mindset of IJA leadership profoundly shaped Japanese infantry doctrines and tactics.In 1928, a new edition of “Principles of Command” was issued. Unsurprisingly, it stressed again and again that elan and morale were key to defeat or victory and therefore constituted the cornerstone of IJA’s modern doctrine.In essence, Japanese infantry training emphasized:offensive-mindednessexploitation of the cover of darkness to achieve surprise, to encircle the enemy with stealthdeception and infiltrationswift shock action combined with sheer tenacity and aggressiveness to close in and engage the enemy in hand to hand combat embodied in the bayonetThe rationale underlying those tactical elements was:to compensate for deficiencies in modern weaponries and materials. Also, by fighting the enemy in close quarter, the Japanese hoped to nullify their enemy’s advantage in artillery, automatic weapons.the Japanese’s unshakable conviction in the power of seishin to overcome anything: including bombs and bullets (once again)Accordingly, Japanese infantry recruits trained ceaselessly in bayonet drills and various forms of close-quarter fighting such as kendo, judo, wrestling.Bayonet trainingKendo matchThroughout the war, Japanese soldiers stood out with their bayonet-affixed rifles in encounters with their enemies. It became an iconic image of IJA infantrymen.Therein lay the strength of Japanese army training program. It produced a large number of fighting men who were physically resilient, agile and deadly in bayonet combats. Zhukov commented on the IJA troops who fought the Soviets in the Mongolian border class in 1939:Well-trained especially in close-quarter fighting that involved the bayonets. Well-disciplined, tenacious in combat, stubborn in defense. Junior commanders were well-trained and fanatically determined in battle.HoweverThere were serious weaknesses which the Japanese failed to rectified throughout the war. Little attention was given to combined-arms attacks that involved a well-balanced force composed of AFV, artillery, air support and infantry. This was easy to understand because Japanese leaders had little understanding of and disdain for technologies (mentioned above); and even if they had wanted to conduct combined-arms attack, Japan’s limited resources meant that they could not procure enough hardware to accomplish that.Moreover, there was a notable lack of individual initiative, imagination AND cooperation between large-scale friendly formations. This stemmed from several factors:Japanese culture encouraged competitive spirit. Competition was preferred to cooperation. Within the IJA, team combat tactics were discouraged. There was also regionalism. The leadership believed that by organizing conscripts from the same geographical regions into regional units and inciting them to outcompete units from other regions, they would be motivated to fight hard for the honor of their regions. This meant that IJA units were highly motivated individually but lacked the willingness and the ability to operate together in large-scale operation over vast geographical area (due to inferior-quality radios which hampered field communication)Widespread brutality in the army (and navy):Since its establishment, the officer corp of the IJA was composed of samurais which occupied the highest social class whereas the foot soldiers came from lower classes. This resulted in officers treating their men with contempt and brutality.To counteract the spread of individualism and baleful western influences (during the Taisho democracy era), Japanese officers resorted to corporal punishments to instill discipline and to purge harmful liberal ideas from the men.Believing that swift victories in combat could be achieved by swift execution of order, army officers endeavored to turn their subordinate into automatons who would carry out orders without questions and thinking. This in turn necessitated instilling fear by sadistic beating, hazing and abuse of the recruits.The unconscionable violence pervading the army produced fearsome killing agents who would fight the war with astounding barbarism and efficiency, leading to atrocities. But at the same time, unquestioning obedience stifled individual initiative and creativity in military situation.Indeed, IJA’s infantry training exercises were marked by little imagination, almost invariably staged with predictable outcomesunsupported infantry units routinely penetrated the first line of Soviet defenses. Despite the many deficiencies exposed during maneuvers, esp the lack of combined-arms cooperation, they always ended with an infantry breakthrough. In other words, exercises relied more on memorization of predictable tactical solutions than on imagination.One consequence was the unimaginative application of tactics even in unfamiliar situations wherein conditions for success did not pertain. Prevalent among IJA’s officer corps was an uncritical adherence to textbook prescription. This was akin to a student who was very studious but not particularly clever who frequently consults his/her notes for clues to solve an unfamiliar problem. Zhukov pointedly captured this weakness:their officers, esp senior officers, lack initiative and are apt to act according to crammed rulebook.At this point, you can clearly see how outdated Japanese infantry tactics were: characterized by little individual initiative, unimaginative application of tactical solutions, and an obsessive stress on seishin and hand-to-hand combat.Next, let’s see how effective such tactics were in the war.Effectiveness of IJA’s infantry tacticsIn the wake of humiliating defeats at the hands of an enemy they had regarded as inferior, Allied soldiers were astounded by the audacity, rapidity, tenacity and sheer barbarism of their Japanese foes. Almost overnight, stereotypes of the Japanese were overturned from inferiority to superiority. Allied soldiers ascribed almost superhuman qualities to Japanese fighters. Some let their first impression prevailed over their rationality by asserting that the Japanese were even better than the Germans (ridiculous).However, a rational assessment reveals the true strengths and weaknesses of the IJA and its soldiers and officers.There were several factors accounting for the incredible success of the IJA’s conquest of European colonial possessions.Battle experience: the IJA had fought the Chinese for years before 1941 so they obviously had accumulated a great deal of experience. While the poorly trained and armed Chinese soldiers were not comparable to Allied soldiers who were more physically fit and better armed, the experience fighting the Chinese hardened IJA infantrymen and accustomed them to the stress and perils of combat.Morale fueled by inflated sense of racial superiority: racial arrogance and contempt pertained in Japan too. The Japanese emulated their Nazi ally in formulating and promoting their own brand of racial superiority. Japanese troops were inculcated with the myth of Japanese spiritual superiority, racial purity that would enable them to defeat the materially superior but hedonistic and cowardly European troops (Chinese soldiers were regarded as armed bandits. British, French and Dutch soldiers were deemed as fit for fighting rebels in their colonies only. But the Japanese respected the Germans).The incompetence of Allied commanders and soldiery: German victory in Europe compelled the British to concentrate most of their resources to counter German threat in Europe at the expense of defense in Asian colonies. Inadequate funding, supply and refusal to reinforce Singapore and Malaya led to deterioration of defense there. Allied troops were poorly trained and unmotivated. Their commanders were incompetent and underestimating the Japanese.All of these factors contributed to easy Japanese victories. It stands to reason that their success was due as much to the shortcomings of their adversaries as to their own strengths.However, as the Allies recovered from their setbacks, reorganized and fought back with vigor and determination, they would come to appreciate both the strengths and weaknesses of the IJA.On the one hand, Allied soldiers and officers recognized the daring and ruthlessness with which the Japanese conducted flanking maneuvers and night-fighting that relied heavily on speed, stealth and surprise. According to one US Army handbook:Surprise is a cardinal principle of all Japanese actions. It is accomplished through rapidity of advance, deception of all kinds, and infiltration and demonstration in the enemy rear; in short, all means available are utilized, and speed is greatly emphasized.The Japanese proficiency in bayonet combat was acknowledged, esp in the jungles on Pacific islands which greatly reduced combat range and allowed the Japanese to engage in close-quarter action.And finally, the Allies respected the Japanese for their sheer tenacity and bravery both in offense and defense. The Japanese proved very adept in the defense as demonstrated on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Also, they consistently stayed where they were and fought to the death.But on the other handsAllied soldiers quickly recognized the serious shortcomings explained above: lack of imagination, inability to conduct combined-arms operation, lack of cooperation in ground operation, inflexibility and above recklessness (engendered by a mixture of arrogance and overemphasis on attacking).Japanese troops unfailingly showed a fondness for reckless attack even when they lacked the resources to ensure success, when they were outgunned and outnumbered. Their disregard for heavy casualties made it easy for them to do so. US Marines were amazed at both the fanatical bravery and stupidity of Japanese troops they fought on Pacific Islands. Their fanaticism (fueled by contempt of the enemies) caused them to fight in tactically asinine manner which ended in self-annihilation.The IJA’s unimaginative tactics, tactical inflexibility, lack of initiative and cooperation on the grounds brought disastrous consequences in battles against well-prepared enemies. One example was the Battle of Imphal between the IJA and British-Indian force commanded by British General William Slim. In 1942, Slim’s forces suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Japanese in Burma because the Japanese employed swift flanking maneuver to encircle and cut off retreat route of the British. To achieve this, IJA small units carried minimal amount of supplies to move unencumbered on the field. They were able to defeat the British by swift surprise overpowering attack and capture British supplies for their own use.Recognizing that Japanese tactical success depended on surprise and speed of attack at the expense of logistics, Slim knew that if his soldiers could defeat Japanese flanking maneuvers and protect the supply, Japanese attack would falter and fail eventually. This was exactly what British-Indian forces did in the battle of Imphal in 1944. The Japanese applied the same tactical tricks they used 2 years before against an enemy well-prepared to counter that tactic. In the end, Japanese flanking maneuvers and ill-supplied IJA units ran out of supplies and fell into disarray.Having been taught to obey orders without questions, Japanese soldiers were never allowed to think outside of the box and to take over when they lost their commanders. This was in stark contrast to the German army in which soldiers were encouraged to act above their ranks and to take over when officers became casualties which gave the German army high degree of organizational cohesion. Indeed, US General J. Lawton Collins who had the distinction of serving both in Europe and the Pacific made the following insightful statement (Who was the tougher World War II enemy, the Germans or the Japanese?)They were radically different. The German was far more skilled than the Japanese. Most of the Japanese that we fought were not skilled men. Not skilled leaders. The German had a professional army. . . . The Japanese army was very much like ours in a sense. They had a small corps of officers who were professionals. But the bulk of their people were not professionals in the sense of knowing their business and so on. They didn’t have the equipment that we had. They didn’t know how to handle combined arms-the artillery and the support of the infantry-to the same extent we did. … They fought very, very hard, but they were not nearly as skillful as the Germans.The lack of cooperation between field units was evident on Pacific islands. Ill-informed on the progresses of friendly units and disdainful of each other, IJA units mounted uncoordinated piecemeal attacks against US positions defended by barb wires and machine guns. The result was invariably the decimation of IJA units.ConclusionWhen judged against the framework of modern warfare of WW2 characterized by the widespread use of advanced technologies, communication and combined-arms operations, Japanese infantry tactics were indeed outdated.The outdatedness of those tactics could be attributed to the outdated mindset of IJA leadership. Locked in an old worldview of the romantic samurai tradition, IJA leaders obsessively emphasized seishin and hand-to-hand combat while neglecting the important role of modern technologies and communication. For the Japanese, modern weaponries were secondary to the intangible elements of warfare: surprise, deception, speedy maneuvers, faith in victory, and fighting spirit.The outcome was a fighting force made of soldiers who were exceptionally brave, physically resilient, agile, proficient in close-quarter combat, tenacious and at the same time well-drilled automatons who excelled in familiar combat situations but floundered in unfamiliar situations and were inflexible in the execution of their battle plans.Japanese tactics worked well against ill-prepared enemies and at close range. But against well-prepared enemies with modern weaponries and supported by airpower and artillery, they failed utterly. When given an order, Japanese commanders sought to achieve the objectives with the available resources rather than determine the chance of achieving success. The rigidity and lack of imagination of IJA leadership coupled with Allies superiority in technologies and weaponries led to repeated defeats for the IJA after the 1st few months of easy victories in 1942.Those aforementioned attributes made the IJA a truly unique fighting force. I think there is a factual basis in the cliche that the Japanese were first rate soldiers in a third rate army. The individual Japanese soldiers were tough, determined, brave and fanatical. But their leadership and everything stemming from it: tactics, doctrines, organization were ineffective and on many occasions proved spectacularly incompetent. A legitimate argument can be made that the IJA had the mindset of a 17th-century army equipped with 20th-century weapons. Their irrational and unfailing belief in the power of fighting spirit, intangible assets cheaper than materials such as sheer physical and spiritual strengths, and neglect of essential role of technologies showed that the Japanese were incapable of fighting modern war effectively and they paid the price dearly for that inability.General William Slim:Strength of IJA lay, according to Marshal Slim, not in high-level leadership and operational competence but in the spiritual strength of individual Japanese soldiers. It was the combination of obedience and ferocity that made the Japanese army whatever its conditions, so formidable, and would make any army formidable. It would make an European army invincible.The Japanese were ruthless and bold as ants while their designs went well, but if their plans were disturbed or thrown out—ant-like again—they fell into confusion, were slow to re-adjust themselves, and invariably clung too long to their original schemes. This, to commanders with their unquenchable military optimism, which rarely allowed in their narrow administrative margins for any setback or delay, was particularly dangerous. The fundamental fault of their generalship was a lack of moral, as distinct from physical, courage. They were not prepared to admit that they had made a mistake, that their plans had misfired and needed recasting. ... Rather than confess that, they passed on to their subordinates, unchanged, the order that they themselves had received, well knowing that with the resources available the tasks demanded were impossible. Time and again, this blind passing of responsibility ran down a chain of disaster... . They scored highly by determination; they paid heavily for lack of flexibility.Douglas MacArthur:Japanese troops fight with the greatest tenacity. The military quality of the rank and file remains of the highest caliber. The officer corps however, deteriorates as you go up the scale. It is fundamentally based upon a caste and feudal system and does not represent strict professional merit. Therein lies Japan’s weakness. Her sons are strong of limbs and stout of heart but weak in leadership. Gripped inexorably by a military hierarchy, that hierarchy is now failing the nation. It has had neither the imagination nor the foresighted ability to organize Japanese resources for a total war.Arthur Swinson:The Japanese martial system produces not only courage, loyalty and brutality but also rigidity and stupidity. It led to great daring and acceptance of risks but also to bad staff work and administrative blunders.Reference(s)1/ Japan's Imperial Army: Its Rise and Fall (Modern War Studies) - Edward J. Drea2/ Military Effectiveness: Volume 3, The Second World War (Military Effectiveness (Hardcover)) 2nd Edition, Kindle Edition - Allan R. Millett (Editor), Williamson Murray (Editor)

Edward Conway has the gist of it: it took 500 years for the empire to outgrow its origins in military adventurism. The critical weakness of the Roman state -- really as far back as Marius --- was its inability to create a legitimizing force that could keep ambitious generals from seizing the throne. That's the TLDR.To be fair, the numbers make it look worse than it is because there basically was no Roman Empire in the 3rd century, which provides most of the one-year wonders, assassinations, and coups. Consider this timeline which ends just before Diocletian:More than half of these names fall into the century after Commodus. Well over a third of them fall in the disastrous 50 years from 235 to 285. Although the chaotic period contains a handful of impressive figures (in particular, the heroic Aurelian) it was, essentially, one interminable civil war.The emperor lists create an illusion of continuity, disguising how chaotic this period was (the other scholarly name for it this period is the tragically accurate military anarchy). Moreover emperor lists sometimes show parallel claimants but don't record the separate existence off the short-lived Gallic Empire, the Palmyrene Empire of Zenobia, and the many local satrapies which functioned as statelets of their own during this period.In many ways the situation from the death of Commodus (192) to the accession of Diocletian (284) is reminiscent of China between the Taiping Rebellion and Mao: the central powers were alternately weak, incompetent, and rent by internal strife, but there persisted remarkable degree of cultural continuity at lower levels. Most key social institutions continued to function, albeit in a diminished and slowly deteriorating fashion, but the state was an abstraction more than a living reality: a name and a report of distant battles, but not an expression of social needs. Depending on how you look at it this is a tribute to the strength of Roman (and Chinese) society or a condemnation of the venality of their rulers -- but the scope of the problem is far, far larger than the relatively minor one of individual succession.It is true that the ideology of hereditary succession and dynastic loyalty -- the sort of 'for King and Country' sentiment we associate with later European monarchs -- can be a very effective tool for staving off this kind of internal strife. By way of illustration, the list of Kings of England from Alfred to today covers twice the lifespan of the western Roman Empire, but contains only 66 names (the same wiki page that generated the list above has the English case). It's an interesting example of an idea that seems 'natural' to us, even though we're post-monarchists, but which was in fact anything but inevitable at the time: In Byzantium, hereditary successors were rare enough that the title Porphyrogennetos was a prestigious accolade for the lucky few; and even the Carolingians casually divided kingdoms among multiple heirs. It took several centuries of primogeniture, compounded with the feudal ideology of vassalage and the aura of divine right to really create the idea that a kingdom was a permanent, inheritable unit to which the subjects owed a 'natural' allegiance.The closest analogy in Rome was the Republican tradition of clientela, which did pass down an important reciprocal relationship between a powerful family and its dependents. However this was primarily understood as a kind of traditional alliance, rather than as allegiance. As Roman culture (and Roman political power) became more diverse and more international the old expectation of long-term loyalties declined. Perhaps more importantly, the decimation of the traditional Italian aristocracy under the principate also weakened this element considerably -- it does not take too many Caligulas or Domitians to undermine the idea of 'fidelity' as a ruling principle.Western Rome never really embraced hereditary succession -- Augustus had no direct heirs, and instead seems to have felt the old Republican tradition of adoption would provide good candidates (he himself was only a 'Caesar' by adoption). He failed to anticipate the ways in which monarchy changed the traditional rules for competition among siblings and members of the familia -- while the picture of assassinations and intrigue in I, Claudius is sensationalized and comes from hostile sources, being a junior member of the imperial house was not a healthy occupation. There was some degree of heritable aura -- but it was not enough to counterbalance the most important, and deadliest element in Roman politics: the role of the army.Ever since the military reforms of Marius the Roman legions had been tied far more closely to their generals than to the Roman state. The old Republican armies had been staffed primarily by citizen-soldiers, nominally at least independent farmers and townsmen. After Marius the armies were recruited from the landless, the dispossessed, and the urban poor. While they served they were dependent on their generals for chances at loot and glory; when they retired, they could only expect good treatment if their old generals had gone on to positions of power which would give them land and pensions to distribute. The formation of the First Triumvirate, which essentially rang the death knell of the Republic, was driven by Pompey's need to force through a law providing farms for his veterans. The armies became fatally accustomed to seeing powerful generals, rather than the state, as their real patrons -- when Caesar crossed the Rubicon he had almost no defections from the rank and file. The civil wars of Caesar and Augustus only increased the detachment of the military from the state.Augustus managed to reconcile the contradiction by becoming the state (and by living a long time). Once he was gone, however, the loyalty of the soldiers was increasingly a marketable commodity: you can even see the rate of inflation in what were politely called 'Donativa', otherwise known as 'ransom'. The climax came in the inglorious career of Didius Julianus (193), who literally bought the empire from the Praetorians after they murdered his predecessor, the decent and public-spirited Pertinax.Pertinax tried to do the right thing. It got him murdered by the army.Didius Julianus knew how the game was played. Until Septimius Severus came along.Although Septimius Severus was able to get rid of the Praetorians themselves, he couldn't break the stranglehold of the army on political power. He tried to at least keep them busy enough to stay out of politics -- but his aggressive policies were expensive and started the downward spiral of the civilian economy which climaxed with Diocletian essentially attempting to completely subordinate the civilian realm to the needs of the defense budget. But down to the fall of the west (and for a long time after that in the east) ambitious generals with armies who would follow them against all comers remained a constant threat to the stability of the empire. Indeed, in many ways the barbarian 'invasions' of the 5th century are just a continuation of the same problem, since so many of the invaders were, at one time or another, part of the Roman military (including Alaric, who took Rome in 410).I'm not sure if there was an institutional solution to the problem, at least not an easy one.To some degree the conditions of ancient war in this period favored professional armies over citizen forces. Institutional continuity, regimental tradition, and a powerful non-commissioned officer corp all counted for a lot. Unlike a modern national army of the 19th or 20th century, though, Roman armies were not permanently tethered to an industrial supply chain. They could, if they chose, take what they wanted. This put a lot of power into the hands of the military caste (and, by the end, it really was becoming a caste -- at least if you follow Alexander Demandt or Walter Goffart). The Pax Romana itself probably also had something to do with it: by de-militarizing such a huge swath of territory, the empire rendered the vast majority of its citizens more vulnerable to the armies which remained.The other deep cause was the plutocratization of the Roman Republic -- where, at the end, society was polarized between an urban proletariat dependent on handouts and generalissimos like Pompey and Caesar who literally had dozens of kings trailing them around hoping for an audience. The early empire was much more prosperous -- the end of all those wars and the abolition of trade barriers was a huge boost to the whole Mediterranean world -- but it was no more equal. Moreover it was less "patriotic" because the local ties which predominated in the Republic and Hellenic worlds were dissolving in the common imperial culture. This disinclined ordinary people to think they could stand up to the soldiers and assert their rights. Even the wealthy and powerful were cowed: the Senate's theoretical role as the repository of sovereignty never led to anything practical, except perhaps for the fortunate choice of Nerva.Lastly, there was also no broad ideological basis that could hold emperors accountable (at least, not until well into the Byzantine period). Many emperors tried to use religion as a unifying force, but the diffuse and diverse traditions of paganism didn't provide enough focus to move the masses (this was particularly tough given the wide range of peoples and languages in the empire: as subsequent events show 'divine' can mean very different things in Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Jerusalem). The philosophical schools were very diverse and disagreed among themselves. The Stoics -- like Marcus Aurelius -- were often public spirited but equally often they were quietists who preached detachment and calm instead of strenuous virtue.So, it's not clear to me anyway that the some change in the laws could have reversed all of these forces and given the Roman succession the pleasant monotony of the English or French version. The long term decline of the Roman economy seems to have damped down the swings eventually (though of course this had terrible consequences of its own). In Byzantium, the Christianization of society (and eventually, relentless attacks from the Arab and Muslim frontiers) created something of the sense of 'national mission' and public obligation which the middle Empire had lost. But it's hard -- very hard -- to keep a powerful military in its barracks down the centuries; we can see that even in today's world where military states-within-states are extremely persistent and hard to subordinate to orderly civilian power.

With a last name that's as common as muck there are just a few, my favourite being James-The Sex Machine-Brown. Oowww, I feel good!ActivismGerald W. Brown, American whistleblowerH. Rap Brown, American civil rights activistJohn Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American abolitionistJohn W. Brown (1867–1941), a Canadian-born labour leader in the United StatesOliver Brown (civil rights), plaintiff of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case concerning school segregationOlympia Brown (1835–1926), American women's suffragistArt and architectureBob Brown (comics), comic book artistChristy Brown, an Irish author, painter and poetFord Madox Brown (1821–1893), English painterHenry Kirke Brown (1814–1886), American sculptorLancelot "Capability" Brown (1716–1783), English landscape gardenerJohn Brown (architect), English architect in the 19th centuryJohn George Brown (1831–1913), American painter born Durham, EnglandMartin Brown (artist), illustrator of children's booksBusinessBobbi Brown, makeup artist and entrepreneurSir David Brown (entrepreneur) (1904–1993), English entrepreneurHoward Brown (Halifax Bank), spokesman for Halifax bank in the U.K.CrimeNathaniel Bar-Jonah, born David Paul Brown, convicted kidnapper and child sexual assaulterJason Derek Brown, suspected murderer listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives listJohn A. Brown, Jr. (died 1997), an American murderer executed in Louisiana for the murder of Omer LaughlinJohn Ronald Brown, unlicensed United States sex-change operation surgeonNixzmary Brown, American murder victim from Brooklyn, New YorkEngineering, science, and medicineAlexander Crum Brown (1838–1922), Scottish chemist who devised the diagrammatic system of representing chemical bondsBarnum Brown (1873–1963), American paleontologistDavid K. Brown (1928–2008) British naval architect and authorErnest William Brown (1866–1938), English mathematician and astronomerGeorge Harold Brown (1908–1987), American research engineer who developed color televisionGeorge R. Brown (1898–1983), American entrepreneur who co-founded the engineering and construction company, Brown and Root, now known as KBRGerald E. Brown (born 1926), American theoretical physicistG. Spencer-Brown (born 1923), English mathematicianHarold P. Brown (1869–1932), inventor of the electric chairHerbert C. Brown, (1912–2004) Nobel Prize chemistHoward Junior Brown (1924–1975), physician, public health official, and gay-rights activistJohn Brown (doctor) (1735–1788), Scottish physician who developed his own medical systemSir John Brown (industrialist) (1816–1896), the inventor of a process for rolling armour-plateJohn Brown (physician) (1810–1882), Scottish physician and essayistJohn Campbell Brown (born 1947), Scottish Royal AstronomerJustin Brown (aquanaut) (born circa 1982), American aquanautMichael E. Brown (born 1965), astronomerMichael Stuart Brown (born 1941), American geneticistMoses Brown (1738–1836), American inventorN. E. Brown (Nicholas Edward Brown, 1849–1934), botanistRachel Fuller Brown (1898–1980), American scientist, co-developer of NystatinRobert Brown (botanist) (1773–1858), botanistRobert Hanbury Brown (1916–2002), British astronomer and physicistRoger Brown (psychologist) (1925-1997), American social psychologistSamuel Brown (Royal Navy officer) (1774–1852), British civil engineerThomas Brown (engineer) (1772–1850), English surveyor, engineer, businessman, and landownerThomas Brown (naturalist) (1785–1862), English naturalistThomas Townsend Brown (1905–1985), American physicistWilliam Brown (bridge designer) (1928–2005), British bridge designerFictionthe Browns, a hobbit family mentioned in the works of J. R. R. TolkienAmber Brown, title character in a series of books by Paula DanzigerBingo Brown, title character in a series of books by Betsy ByarsBob Brown (The Unit), a character in the American TV show The UnitBuster Brown, an early 20th-century U.S. comic strip characterCharlie Brown, central hero of the Peanuts cartoon by Charles SchulzCleveland Brown, character on the television shows Family Guy and The Cleveland ShowDr Emmett Brown, the "crazy, wild-eyed" scientist from the Back to the Future trilogy, played by Christopher LloydEncyclopedia Brown, boy detectiveFather Brown, Catholic priest and detective in stories by G. K. ChestertonJohn Brown, protagonist of the 1999 film Inspector GadgetLavender Brown, fellow student in the Harry Potter series by J. K. RowlingHarry Brown (film), 2009 British film with Michael Caine and Emily MortimerPaddington Brown, bear in Michael Bond's children's storiesRembrandt Brown, musician in US TV show SlidersSally Brown, sister of Charlie Brown in Peanuts cartoon by Charles SchulzTeela Brown, heroine of Larry Niven's Ringworld SF series with in-born good luckTom Brown (character), plucky student in semi-autobiographical Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes, later mentioned in George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman seriesVanbeest Brown, pseudonym of Harry Bertram in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Guy ManneringWilliam Brown (fictional boy), naughty schoolboy hero of Just William by Richmal CromptonAgent Brown in The MatrixFilm, television, and theaterA. Whitney Brown, American comedianAaron Brown, American broadcast journalistAlton Brown, American TV chefArnold Brown (comedian), Scottish comedianBarry Brown (actor) (1951–1978), American actorBruce Brown (b. 1937), American documentary filmmakerBryan Brown, Australian actorClancy Brown (b. 1959), American actorClarence Brown, American movie directorDavid Brown (producer) (born 1916), American movie producerGeorge Brown (union official), president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage EmployeesHarry Brown (journalist), Canadian radio and television hostJames Brown (actor) (1920–1992), American actorJames Brown (sportscaster) (born 1951), American television sports personalityJoe Brown (judge) (born 1947), television judge on the Judge Joe Brown showJoe E. Brown (1892–1973), American actor and comedianKimberly J. Brown (born 1984), American actressRobert Brown (British actor) (1921–2003), English actorRobert Brown (US actor) (born 1927), American actorRobert Latham Brown, producer, production manager, and authorSamantha Brown, Travel Channel hostTheo Wade Brown (1950–2002), British designer and eccentric, well-known member of the London special effects communityTom Brown (actor) (1913–1990), film and television actorHistory, philosophy, and religionArnold Brown (General of The Salvation Army) (1913–2002), 11th General of The Salvation ArmyGeorge Brown (missionary) (1835–1917), English missionary to Fiji, SamoaJohn Brown (minister) (1784–1858), Scottish clergyman and writerJohn Brown (theologian) (1722–1787), Scottish clergyman and Biblical commentatorJohn Brown (Vicar of St Mary's, Leicester) (died 1845), an eloquent British evangelical preacher and Vicar of St. Mary's LeicesterPeter Brown (historian) (born 1935), Irish historian specializing in the period of Late Antiquity and study of the cult of saintsThomas Brown (philosopher) (1778–1820), Scottish philosopherWilliam Brown (clergyman) (1766–1835), Scottish clergyman and HebraistLiteratureAlice Brown (writer) (1856–1948), American novelistBill Brown (critical theory), American author and professor of English at the University of ChicagoCharles Brockden Brown, American novelistDale Brown (born 1956), American novelistDan Brown, American novelist; author of The Da Vinci CodeDee Brown (writer), American novelist and historianEric Brown (writer), science fiction authorFredric Brown, science fiction and mystery authorGeorge Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelistGeorge Mackay Brown (1921–1996), Scottish poet, author, and dramatistHarry Brown (writer) (1917–1986), American screenwriter and novelistHelen Gurley Brown (1922–2012), author, publisher, and businesswomanJ. B. Selkirk, James Brown of Selkirk, Scottish poet and essayistJames Cooke Brown (1921–2000), sociologistJohn Brown (essayist) (1715–1766), English divine and authorJohn Brown (fugitive slave) (c. 1810–1876), writer of Slave Life in Georgia: A Narrative of the Life, Sufferings and Escape of John BrownNorman O. Brown (1913–2002), American literary scholarRita Mae Brown (born 1944), American writer and social activistRosel George Brown (1926–1967), American science fiction authorThomas Edward Brown (1830–1897), Manx poet, scholar, and divineTina Brown (born 1953), English journalist and author, biographer of Diana, Princess of WalesTom Brown (naturalist) (born 1950), an American outdoorsman and nature writerTom Brown (satirist) (c. 1663–1704), English translator and satiristWilliam Wells Brown (1814–1884), African American writer and abolitionistMilitaryGeorge Brown (British Army officer) (1790–1865)George Scratchley Brown (1918–1978), Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffHarry W. Brown (1898–1917), Canadian recipient of the Victoria CrossJacob Brown (1775–1828), U.S. Army officer in the War of 1812, later commanding general, U.S. ArmyJohn Brown (British Army soldier), British POW and spy during the Second World WarPeter Brown (VC) (1837–1894), Swedish recipient of the Victoria CrossRoy Brown (RAF officer) (1893–1944), Canadian World War I flying aceTom Brown (British Army soldier) (1705–1746), hero of the Battle of DettingenWalter Brown (VC), DCM (1885–1942), Australian recipient of the Victoria CrossWilliam Brown (admiral) (1777–1857), Irish-born Argentine Navy admiralWilliam Brown (sailor), black woman who served in the Royal Navy disguised as a manWilliam Brown (soldier) (18th century), American Revolutionary War soldierMusicArthur Brown (musician), English rock and roll singerAyla Brown (born 1988), American singer, college basketball player and former American Idol contestantBarry Brown (singer), Jamaican reggae singerBill Brown (composer) (born 1969), American composerBobby Brown (born 1969), American rhythm and blues singerCharles Brown (musician), American blues singerChris Brown (American entertainer), American rhythm and blues singer and dancerClifford Brown, American jazz trumpeterDavid Brown (Australian musician), Australian musicianDavid Brown (musician), American musicianDennis Brown, Jamaican reggae singerEarle Brown, American experimental composerEban Brown (born 1972), American jazz vocalist/guitarist, lead singer of The StylisticsFoxy Brown (rapper), American female rapperGeorge Brown (musician) (born 1949), drummer for Kool & the GangHarold Ray Brown (born 1946), member of the 1970s band WarIan Brown, solo artist and former lead singer in The Stone RosesIona Brown, British violinist and conductor, sister of TimothyJames Brown (1933–2006), American soul and funk singer and bandleaderJason "J" Brown, former member of boy-band 5iveJocelyn Brown, American R&B and dance music singerJoe Brown (singer) (born 1941), British singerJulie Brown, American actress and singerJunior Brown, American country singerLes Brown (bandleader), big band leaderLew Brown, American lyricistMelanie Brown, English pop singerPeter Brown (singer) (born 1953), singer, songwriter, and producerRobert E. Brown (1927–2005), American ethnomusicologistRosemary Brown (spiritualist) (1916–2001), spirit medium and classical pianistRuth Brown, American singerStephen Brown (composer), Canadian composer, conductor, and teacherSteve Brown (bass player) (1890–1965), American jazz musician and string bass player from New OrleansSteve Brown (composer), British television composerTimothy Brown (hornist), British hornist, brother of IonaTom Brown (trombonist) (1888–1958), American jazz trombonist and bandleaderThe 5 Browns, classical piano musical group: Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra, and DesiraeVicki Brown (1940–1991), English singerWilfred Brown, English tenorWillie Brown (musician) (1900–1952), American delta blues guitarist and singerPoliticsAustraliaBob Brown (born 1944), Australian green politicianBob Brown (Australian Labor politician)Carol Brown, Australian senatorPeter Broun, known for most of life as Peter Nicholas Brown (1797–1846), first Colonial Secretary of Western Australia (1829–1846)Robert Leslie Brown, Australian Shooters Party politicianThomas Brown (Western Australian politician) (1803–1863), Australian pastoralist and politicianCanadaGeorge Brown (Canadian politician) (1818–1880), Scottish-born Canadian politicianRosemary Brown (politician) (1930–2003)William Brown (Manitoba politician), politician in Manitoba, 1922–1927New ZealandPeter Brown (New Zealand politician) (born 1939), New Zealand First MPSouth Africa[edit source | editbeta]Peter Brown (South African politician) (1924–2004), founding member of the South African Liberal PartyUnited KingdomErnest Brown (MP) (1881–1962), British politicianGeorge Brown, Baron George-Brown (1914–1985), British politicianGordon Brown (born 1951), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010James Brown (Scottish politician) (1862–1939), Member of Parliament for Ayrshire, UKRobert Brown (English politician) (born 1921), English politicianRobert Brown (Scottish politician) (born 1947), Scottish politicianUnited StatesAdam M. Brown (1826–1901), mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1901Adon P. Brown (1873–1942), New York state senatorBenjamin Gratz Brown (1826–1885), governor of MissouriCharlie Brown (California politician) (born 1949), candidate for Congress in northern CaliforniaEdward and Elaine Brown, New Hampshire tax protestersElon R. Brown (1857–1922), President pro tem of the New York State Senate 1915 until 1918Eric Brown (judge), Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme CourtFred H. Brown (1879–1955), American lawyer and politicianseveral people named George Brown, including:George Brown, Jr. (1920–1999), U.S. congressman from CaliforniaGeorge Houston Brown (1810–1865), represented New Jersey 's 4th congressional district from 1853 to 1855Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense) (born 1927), American physicistHenry Billings Brown (1836–1914), U.S. Supreme Court justiceHenry E. Brown, Jr. (born 1935), U.S. congressman from South CarolinaJames Brown (Louisiana) (1766–1835), U.S. senator from LouisianaJames S. Brown (1824–1878), mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and U.S. Representative from WisconsinJ. E. "Buster" Brown (born 1940), Texas state senatorJerry Brown (born 1938), governor of California from 1975 until 1983 and since 2011John Brown (Kentucky) (1757–1837), member of Continental Congress from VirginiaJohn Brown (Maryland) (c. 1760–1815), United States congressman from MarylandJohn Brown (North Carolina) (1737–1812), pioneer and statesman from North CarolinaJohn Brown (Pennsylvania) (1772–1845), United States congressman from PennsylvaniaJohn Brown (Rhode Island) (1736–1803), United States congressman from Rhode IslandJohn Brewer Brown (1836–1898), United States congressman from MarylandJohn C. Brown (1827–1889), Tennessee governorJohn Robert Brown (judge) (1909–1993), a member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitJohn W. Brown (New York politician) (1796–1875), United States congressman from New YorkJohn William Brown (1913–1993), governor of Ohio for eleven days in 1957John Y. Brown, Sr. (1900–1985), United States congressman from KentuckyJohn Y. Brown, Jr. (born 1933), Democratic governor of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983Joseph E. Brown (1821–1894), governor of American state of GeorgiaJoseph O. Brown (1848–1903), mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1901–1903Melissa Brown (politician), ophthalmologist and several-time candidate from Pennsylvania for the United States House of RepresentativesPat Brown (1905–1996), governor of California from 1959–1967Raleigh Brown (1921–2009), Texas House of Representatives and state judgeScott Brown, U.S. senator from MassachusettsSherrod Brown (born 1952), U.S. senator from OhioThomas Brown (Florida politician) (1785–1867), American politicianW. K. Brown (c. 1923–2011), Louisiana state representativeWillie Brown (politician) (born 1934), American mayor of San FranciscoSportsAlfredo Brown (1886–1958), Argentine association football playerAllan Brown (footballer) (1926–), Scottish football player and mmanagerAllan Brown (soccer) (born 1984), South African-born Canadian association football playerAndrew Brown (soccer) (1870–1948), Scottish American association football player and coachBarrie Brown (born 1931), Australian rules footballerBill Brown (American football) (born 1938), running backBill Brown (cricketer) (born 1912), Australian cricketerBill Brown (Scottish footballer) (1931–2004), Scots/English goalkeeperBob Brown (offensive lineman) (born 1941), American NFL football playerBob Brown (rugby league), rugby league footballer of the 1930s for SalfordBob Brown (runner) (born 1969), British ultra-distance runnerBobby Brown (footballer born 1923), Scottish football player and managerBobby Brown (third baseman) (born 1924), American Major League Baseball player and American League presidentBrown (Middlesex cricketer) (before 1789 – after 1791), English cricketerCarlos Brown (footballer) (1882–1926), Argentine association football playerCharles Wreford-Brown, former captain of the English national association football teamChris Brown (running back, born 1981), American football playerDavid Brown (cricketer born 1942), English cricketerDavid Brown (golfer) (before 1886 – 1930), Scottish golferDon Brown (American football) (born 1955), American college football coachDougie Brown, Scottish cricketerEdwin Brown (1898–1972), Australian rugby league footballerEliseo Brown (29 October 1888 – after 1911), Argentine association football playerErnesto Brown (1885–1935), Argentine association football playerGene Brown, American basketball playerGeorge Brown (cricketer) (1887–1964), English cricketerGilbert Brown (born 1971), American NFL football defensive tackle for the Green Bay PackersGodfrey Brown (1915–1995), British runnerHerb Brown (born 1936), American basketball coachIke Brown (1942–2001), American baseball playerJackie Brown (boxer), professional boxerJames Brown (footballer born 1987), English footballer for Hartlepool United F.C.James A. Brown (1900–1965), American college sports coachJammal Brown (born 1981), American NFL football left tackle for the New Orleans SaintsJim Brown (born 1936), American football player and film actorJim Brown (pitcher) (1860–1908), American baseball playerJoe Brown (boxer) (1926–1997), American boxerJoe Brown (climber) (born 1930), English climberJoe Brown (footballer born 1920), English footballerJoe Brown (footballer born 1929), English footballer and managerJoe Brown (footballer born 1988), English footballerJohn Brown (bridge), expert contract bridge player and authorJohn Brown (cyclist), New Zealand cyclistJohn Brown (footballer born 1915), Scottish association football playerJohn Brown (footballer born 1940), English association football playerJohn Brown (footballer born 1962), Scottish association football playerJohnny Brown (rugby league), Australian rugby league footballerJonathan Brown (Australian rules footballer) (born 1981)Jonathan Brown (Welsh footballer) (born 1990), football player for Cardiff CityJorge Brown (1880–1936), Argentine association football playerJosé Luis Brown (born 1956), Argentine association football playerJuan Domingo Brown (1888–1931), Argentine association football playerJustin Brown (born 1982), American/Canadian football and arena football defensive endKerrith Brown (born 1962), British judokaKevin Brown (catcher) (born 1973), American baseball playerKevin Brown (ice hockey) (born 1974), English-born Canadian ice hockey playerKevin Brown (right-handed pitcher) (born 1965), American baseball playerKevin Brown (left-handed pitcher) (born 1966), American baseball playerKevin Brown (rugby league) (born 1984), English rugby league footballerKevin Brown (defensive tackle) (born 1985), American football playerKiel Brown (born 1984), Australian field hockey midfielderKwame Brown (born 1982), American basketball playerLarry Brown (basketball), professional basketball coachMartha Brown (figure skater) (born 1900), American figure skaterMelissa Brown (tennis) (born 1968), retired American tennis playerMichael Brown (footballer born 1977), English footballer for Wigan AthleticMike Brown (basketball, born 1970), American basketball head coach for the Los Angeles LakersMike Brown (basketball, born 1963), retired American professional basketball player and assistant coachMike Brown (forward), American NHL ice hockey playerMonty Brown, American professional wrestlerMordecai Brown ("Three Fingers"), pitcher in Major League BaseballNathan Brown (Australian footballer born 1976), former player for MelbourneNathan Brown (Australian footballer born 1978), former player for Richmond and the Western BulldogsNathan Brown (Australian footballer born 1988), player with CollingwoodNathan Brown (rugby league), Australian rugby league player and coachNeal Brown (born 1980), American football coachPaul Brown (1908–1991), American football coachPeter Brown (rugby league), New Zealand rugby league footballerPeter Brown (rugby union) (born 1941), Scottish rugby union footballerPhil Brown (footballer born 1959), English football player and manager of Hull City A.F.C.Phil Brown (footballer born 1966), English football player and manager of Matlock Town F.C.R. M. Brown, American college sports coachR. R. Brown (1879–1950), American athlete, coach, and administratorRachel Brown (born 1980), English football playerRoger Brown (defensive tackle) (born 1937), American football playerRoger Brown (basketball, born 1942) (1942–1997), American basketball playerRoger Brown (basketball, born 1950), American basketball playerRoger Brown (footballer) (1952–2011), English footballerRoger Brown (defensive back) (born 1966), American football playerRonnie Brown (born 1981), American football playerRuben Brown (born 1972), American football playerSailor Brown (born 1915), English footballerScott Brown (footballer born April 1985), English footballerScott Brown (footballer born May 1985), English footballerScott Brown (Scottish footballer), (born 1985) Scottish footballerSean Brown, professional ice hockey playerShannon Brown (born 1985), American basketball playerSheldon Brown (American football) (born 1979), professional American football playerSherwood Brown (born 1991), American basketball playerSteve Brown (footballer born 1966) (born 1966), English footballerSteve Brown (footballer born 1972) (born 1972), English footballerTim Brown (figure skater) (1938–1989), American figure skaterTim Brown (darts player) (born 1944), Australian darts playerTim Brown (American football) (born 1966), American NFL football player and 1987 Heisman Trophy winnerTim Brown (footballer) (born 1981), New Zealand association football playerTim Brown (Canadian football) (born 1984), American player of Canadian footballTom Brown (center fielder) (1860–1927), Liverpool-born American baseball player and managerTom Brown (tennis) (born 1921), American amateur tennis player of the 1940s and 1950sTommy Brown (born 1927), American Major League Baseball infielderTony Brown (English footballer), English footballer who mainly played for West Bromwich AlbionTony Brown (rugby union), New Zealand rugby footballer who played mainly for OtagoTroy Brown (born 1971), wideout for the New England PatriotsWendy Brown (athlete) (born 1966), American heptathleteWes Brown (born 1979), English football player for Manchester UnitedWillie Brown (American football) (born 1940), American football Hall-of-Fame cornerbackOther fieldsArchie Brown, British academic and historianArthur Whitten Brown (1886–1948), Scottish aviatorDavid McDowell Brown (1956–2003), American astronautDerren Brown, English magician and psychological illusionistHenry Box Brown (born 1815), slave who had himself mailed in a box to freedomJohn Brown (servant) (1826–1883), Scottish servant of Queen VictoriaJoshua Brown (Texas pioneer), founder of Kerrville, TexasLouis M. Brown (1909–1996), US lawyer and pioneer of preventive lawLouise Brown (born 1978), the first "test-tube baby"Margaret Brown (1867–1932), American socialite and philanthropist, Titanic survivor, also known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown"Marian and Vivian Brown, notable San Francisco twinsmrbrown, a prominent Singaporean bloggerRobert A. Brown, President of Boston UniversitySheldon Brown (bicycle mechanic) (1944 – 2008), bicycle mechanic, writer, and webmasterWilliam Penn Brown (1841–1929), philatelic pioneerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_surname_BrownBeat that Smith!