R.I.P. Harry Browne

Harry Browne (17 June 1933 – 1 March 2006) was an American free-market libertarian writer and investment analyst.

He was born in New York City to Bradford and Cecil Margaret Browne and, at the time of his death, resided in Franklin, Tennessee.

Browne was the presidential candidate of the United States Libertarian Party in 1996 and 2000.

He was an investment advisor for thirty years and was, immediately prior to his death, Director of Public Policy for the libertarian Downsize DC Foundation. He was a contributor to the news and opinion blog LewRockwell.com.

He came to prominence in 1970 with his first book, How You Can Profit From The Coming Devaluation, which correctly predicted the devaluation of the dollar and subsequent inflation. Browne's second book was 1973's How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World, which focused on maximizing personal liberty. This book became an instant classic in libertarian circles. You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis was Browne's third book and reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. He continued to author books and articles on investing through the late 1990s.

Claims of wrongdoing within Browne's 1996 presidential campaign surfaced during his second run in 2000. In 2001, it was revealed that Perry Willis had worked on behalf of Browne's 1996 campaign while serving as national director of the Libertarian Party. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, party policy prohibits any party staffer from working for a campaign before a nominee is officially decided. After an investigation, the party leadership [1] censured Willis and admonished Browne, who has responded in detail to allegations surrounding the controversy.

More recently, Harry Browne had continued working to increase the popularity of libertarian goals to reduce the size and scope of government. In addition to writing and making appearances on behalf of the Downsize DC Foundation, prior to his death he hosted two weekly network radio shows; one on Saturdays dealing with politics, and the other on Sundays dealing with financial topics. Browne also worked with the Free Market News Network, of which he was the President. Via Free Market News, he had his own internet-based television show called This Week In Liberty. He was also working on a book called The War Racket just prior to his death, but had stated that the book was not near completion, with no definite publishing date.

In June of 2005 an unknown neurological illness confined him to a wheelchair. After spending a considerable amount of time in the hospital, he resumed some of his writing and speaking. He succumbed to his illness on the evening of 1 March 2006.