Jacob Foster Brown (July 9, 1854 - January 4, 1925) was an American engineer and surveyor. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Brown arrived in Hawaii at the age of six after his father accepted a job with the Hawaiian government. Brown began working for W. D. Alexander in the late 1860s or early 1870s before attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1874 - 1877, earning a degree in civil engineering. He served as assistant surveyor-general of Hawaii from 1874 until 1895. In 1885, Brown was appointed to supervise the survey of government lands that would be distributed under the 1884 Homestead Act. He served as land commissioner from November 1895 until May 1901. He married Sarah Emily King on January 18, 1881.