SCHool Magazine Features

Springside School, Chestnut Hill Academy, and SCH boast over 40 alumni authors including the poet laureate of Vermont, a former cast member of the “West Wing" whose book spent its first three weeks in the top three of the New York Times best-seller list, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, CNBC’s senior Washington correspondent, and a world-renowned athlete who was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated—twice.

Dr. John K. (Jack) Brown ’76

For 23 years, John K. (Jack) Brown taught history, applied ethics, writing, and public speaking in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society at the University of Virginia. In 2024, he published Spanning the Gilded Age: James Eads and the Great Steel Bridge. The book details the origins, design, financing, construction, and enduring impact of an iconic arched bridge, the first in the world to rely on structural steel. It illustrates how Americans built their urban infrastructures during the 19th century. The supporting cast includes J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, U.S. Grant, Jay Gould, and Theodore Roosevelt. His next book focuses on a turning point late in World War II. 

His award-winning history of a famous Philadelphia company, the Baldwin Locomotive Works, was published in 1995. He has also written articles on many topics in business, legal, and technological history. A graduate of Emory University, he lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

An excerpt: “While Captain Eads and his bridge were unique, this history of the project expands our understanding of a much broader story: how America became urban, industrial, and interconnected. Modern.” –Spanning the Gilded Age