Literature

• John Brown (historian) (died c. 1826 or 1829), English miscellaneous writer
• John Mason Brown (1900–1969), American literary critic
• Sir John Gilbert Newton Brown (1916–2003), English book publisher
• John Gregory Brown (born 1960), American novelist
• John Brown (American author) (born 1966), American novelist and short story writer

Performing arts

• John Browne (composer) (1453–c. 1500), English composer
• John Brown (actor) (1904–1957), English radio and film actor
• Johnny Mack Brown (1904–1974), American film actor and college football player
• Johnny Brown (actor) (1937–2022), American actor and singer
• John Moulder-Brown (born 1953), English actor
• John W. Brown (set decorator) (fl. 1960s–1970s)

Visual arts

• John Brown (artist) (1752–1787), Scottish artist
• John Crawford Brown (1805–1867), Scottish landscape painter
• John Lewis Brown (1829–1892), French battle, animal, and genre painter
• John George Brown (1831–1913), English-born American painter
• John William Brown (artist) (1842–1928), English painter and stained-glass designer
• John Appleton Brown (1844–1902), American painter
• John Arnesby Brown (1866–1955), English landscape artist

Australia

• John Brown (New South Wales politician) (1821–1896), member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• John Alexander Voules Brown (1852–1945), member of the South Australian House of Assembly
• John Brown (Queensland politician) (1881–1949), blacksmith and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
• John Brown (Tasmanian politician) (1886–1974), member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly
• John Brown (Australian politician) (born 1931), member of the Australian House of Representatives

Canada

• John Brown (Upper Canada politician) (1791–1842), Irish-born Canadian politician
• John Lothrop Brown (1815–1887), Canadian political figure in Nova Scotia
• John Brown (Richmond Hill politician) (fl. 1870s–1880s), Canadian politician
• John Brown (Canadian politician) (1841–1905), member of Parliament
• John Cameron Brown (c. 1843–?), Canadian political figure in New Brunswick
• John Cunningham Brown (1844–1929), Irish-born political figure in British Columbia
• John Brown (Ontario MPP) (1849–1924), member of Ontario assembly and mayor of Stratford, Ontario
• John Robert Brown (British Columbia politician) (1862–1947), Canadian politician
• John Livingstone Brown (1867–1953), Canadian politician
• John G. Brown (1900–1958), Ontario politician
• John L. Brown (Ontario politician) (1921–2004), Canadian politician

United Kingdom

• John Brown (Wales MP) (died c. 1654)
• Sir John McLeavy Brown (1835–1926), British lawyer and diplomat
• John Wesley Brown (1873–1944), British MP for Middlesbrough East

United States

Other countries

• John Evans Brown (1827–1895), American-born member of New Zealand parliament

American football

• John Brown (center) (1922–2009), American football center and linebacker
• John Brown (offensive tackle) (born 1939), American NFL football offensive tackle
• John Brown (offensive lineman) (born 1988), American football offensive lineman
• John Brown (wide receiver) (born 1990), American NFL football wide receiver
• Jon Brown (American football) (born 1992), American NFL football placekicker

Association football

• John Arnesby Brown (1866–1955), English footballer born in Nottingham
• John Brown (footballer, born 1876) (c. 1876–?), Scottish footballer for Sunderland
• John Brown (footballer, born 1887) (1887–1943), Scottish footballer born in Clackmannan
• John Brown (footballer, born 1888) (1888–?), English footballer born in Liverpool
• Jonathan Brown (English footballer) (1893–1918), English footballer born in Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire
• John Brown (footballer, born 1890s), Scottish professional footballer born in Glasgow
• John Brown (footballer, born 1901) (1901–1977), English footballer born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire
• John Brown (1920s footballer), English footballer for Rochdale
• John Brown (footballer, born 1915) (1915–2005), Scottish football player born in Troon
• John Brown (footballer, born 1921) (1921–1989), English footballer born in Crook, County Durham
• John Brown (footballer, born 1935) (1935–2000), Scottish football left-back born in Edinburgh
• John Brown (footballer, born March 1940), Scottish football wing-half born in Edinburgh
• John Brown (footballer, born July 1940), English footballer born in Wadebridge, Cornwall
• John Brown (footballer, born 1947) (1947–2024), English football goalkeeper born in Bradford, Yorkshire
• John Brown (footballer, born 1962), Scottish football player and manager born in Lennoxtown

Australian rules football

• John Brown (Australian footballer, born 1923) (1923–2007), Australian rules footballer for Carlton
• John Brown (Australian footballer, born 1937) (1937–2001), Australian rules footballer for Geelong
• John Brown (Australian footballer, born 1944) (1944–2001), Australian rules footballer for Geelong

Basketball

• John Brown (basketball, born 1951), American former basketball player in the NBA
• John Brown (basketball, born 1992), American basketball player
• John Y. Brown Jr. (1933–2022), American basketball owner

Cricket

• John Brown (cricketer, born 1807) (1807–1883), English cricketer
• John Brown (cricketer, born 1820) (1820–?), English cricketer
• John Brown (cricketer, born 1862) (1862–?), English cricketer
• Jack Brown (cricketer) (1869–1904), English cricketer
• John Brown (cricketer, born 1874) (1874–1950), English cricketer
• John Brown (cricketer, born 1890) (1890–1968), English cricketer
• John Brown (umpire) (1928–2005), New Zealand Test match umpire

Rugby football

• John Blair Brown (1856–1904), Scottish rugby union player
• John Alf Brown (1881–1936), Welsh international rugby union player
• Johnny Brown (rugby league) (born 1943), Australian rugby league footballer
• John Brown (rugby league), New Zealand rugby league player

Other sports

• John Brown (1890s pitcher) (1876–1908), American baseball player
• John Brown (1940s pitcher) (1918–1999), American baseball player
• Jackie Brown (English boxer) or John Brown (1909–1971), English boxer
• John Brown (cyclist) (1916–1990), New Zealand cyclist
• John Brown (bobsleigh) (1935–2019), British Olympic bobsledder
• John Brown (bodybuilder) (fl. 1980s), American bodybuilder
• John Brown (runner) (fl. 2000s–2010s), British competitor in the 2010 World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge
• John Brown (tennis) (born 1940), Australian sports promoter and tennis player
• Jonny Brown (cyclist) (born 1997), American cyclist
• John Brown (runner, born c. 1954), Myers Park HS middle-distance runner and winner of the 1974 4 × 880 yard relay at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships

Artistic uses

• "John Brown's Body", Union marching song of the American Civil War
• John Brown (The Shop Girl), fictional millionaire in The Shop Girl (1894)
• John Brown (biography), 1909 biography of the abolitionist by W.E.B. Du Bois
• "John Brown" (song) by Bob Dylan (1962)
• John Brown, fictional sheriff in "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley (1973)
• "John Brown", a song by the Masters of Reality from Masters of Reality (1989)
• John Brown, fictional character in Ghost Hunt (1989–1992)
• John Brown, fictional physician in Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
• John Brown, fictional protagonist of Inspector Gadget (1999)
• John Brown's Body (band), an American reggae band

Business and legal uses

• Virginia v. John Brown , 1859 trial of the abolitionist
• John Brown & Company, shipbuilding company in Clydebank, Scotland
• John Brown Media, British magazine publisher
• John A. Brown (department store), Oklahoma-based department store chain
• John Brown University, college in Siloam Springs, Arkansas

Military uses

• John Brown Battery, American volunteer artillery unit in the Lincoln Battalion during the Spanish Civil War
• SS John W. Brown, American Liberty ship
• SS John W. Brown II, American Victory ship