Julia Brown was an American madam and prostitute active in mid-nineteenth century New York City. Brown has been described as "the best-known prostitute in antebellum America". She became a popular subject of tourist guidebooks, and her name appears often in diaries from the period.

In the 1830s, Brown entered a brothel owned by Adeline Miller, a well-known New York madam. She did not stay long, however; soon Brown was running brothels of her own on Chapel and Church Streets. One brothel was partially destroyed when the neighboring National Theater burnt down in 1841. By the next year, Brown had opened a new house on Leonard Street, stocked with furniture she had salvaged from the ruined playhouse. This quickly became the most famous brothel in New York City.Fanny White, a.k.a. Jane Augusta Blankman once worked in Brown's brothel.

Despite her illicit occupation, Brown was a darling of the New York upper class. She received invitations to social galas across New York City, and her admirers nicknamed her Princess Julia. She sometimes threw balls of her own in the winter as a way to attract new patrons. Charles Dickens reportedly visited her on a trip through America. The penny press also followed her exploits; the major criticism levied against her was that the cut she took from her girls' earnings was too large.

Karen Hicks is a Democratic political operative specializing in campaign field strategy and organization.

Hicks attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Hicks has held positions in a variety of political organizations and campaigns, including Executive Director of New Hampshire Citizen Action (1993–1997), and Political Director for Jeanne Shaheen’s gubernatorial (2000) and U.S. Senate (2002) bids. She also served as Shaheen’s Health Policy Advisor (2000-2002).

Hicks rose to national prominence during the 2004 Democratic presidential primary when she served as the New Hampshire State Director for Governor Howard Dean’s campaign. Her tactics and exceptional leadership abilities earned her wide acclaim, leading ABC News’ political newsletter The Note to comment that, “Karen Hicks has captured lightning in a bottle in New Hampshire for Dr. Dean.”

Hicks has worked as Deputy National Field Director for the Democratic National Committee, including John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004, and for Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Labour Party of Britain (2005). She led the petitioning drive to win Gifford Miller a place on the ballot in the race for Mayor of New York City (2005).