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Brann, William Cowper, 1855-1898

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William Cowper Brann (January 4, 1855 – April 1, 1898) was an American journalist known as Brann the Iconoclast.

William Cowper Brann

Born in Humboldt, Illinois, Brann was a highly opinionated, colorful writer, known for the articulate savagery of his writing style. At the time of his death, Brann edited the Iconoclast newspaper in Waco, Texas.

He was especially noted for his writings attacking Baptists, Episcopalians, the British, and blacks. He devoted many paragraphs to his hatred of the wealthy eastern social elites, such as the Vanderbilts, and deplored their marriages to titled Europeans, which he characterized as diluting their already debased American stock with worthless foreign blood.

One of his targets was Baylor University, the prominent Baptist institution in Waco. Brann revealed that Baylor officials had been importing South American children recruited by missionaries and making house-servants out of them. He also stated that the male faculty members were having sexual relations with female students, and a father sending his daughter to Baylor was risking her rape. Brann was shot in the back by Tom Davis, a Baylor supporter. Brann wheeled, drew his pistol, and killed Davis. Brann was helped home by his friends, where he died soon after.