A Democrat, he was born in Smallwood, Fairfield County, South Carolina, May 16, 1920 as the son of Boyd and Mary (Tidwell) Brown. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives; a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from South Carolina, 1960, 1964, 1968; the first director of South Carolina Department of General Services (now Budget and Control Board); the vice-president for government affairs of Norfolk Southern Corporation (formerly Southern Railway); the first Trustee Emeritus at the Medical University of South Carolina. Presbyterian. He died, following a stroke, in Fairfield County, South Carolina, on March 9, 1998. He was interred at Bethel Cemetery, Winnsboro, South Carolina. The Walter Boyd Brown Industrial Park in Fairfield County was named for him.