Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code. Descent of Brown from Louis IV of France. Daniel Gerhard Brown (b. 1964) is the son of Richard George Brown and Constance Gerhard. Richard is the son of Benjamin "Bud" Brown (1908-2001) and Ruth Aileen Wooden (1912-2003). The findagrave page for "Bud" contains his obituary, which lists Dan as a grandson. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=90021379 Ruth Wooden is listed in the 1920 US census in Waterloo, New York, living with her parents George R. Wooden (1887-?) and Hazel Fern Cook (1891-?). New York County Marriages gives George's parents as Roscoe Wooden (1865-?) and Jessie Gibson (1866-?), with whom George is listed in the 1900 US census also in Waterloo. Apparently Roscoe Wooden had another marriage while still married to Gibson, considering a marriage license exists for Roscoe and someone named Mable (Sweeting) Roberge in Ontario, Canada in 1916 (even though he was with Gibson in the 1920 and 1930 censuses). This marriage license gives Roscoe's parents as George Wooden (1826-?) and Mary Chesley (1826-?), with whom he is listed in the 1870 census. Mary Chesley is certainly the Mary Elizabeth Chesley listed in the Vermont birth records as the son of Jonathan Chesley and Phebe. Jonathan (1784-1867?), the husband of Phebe West, is listed in the book "A Genealogy of Runnels and Reynolds Families in America" by Moses Thurston Runnels as the son of George Chesley (?-1836) and Eliza Runnels (1745-1838). https://books.google.com/books?id=ucFOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA186&lpg=PA186&dq=jonathan+chesley+phebe+west M.T. Runnels lists Eliza as the daughter of Abraham Runnels (1719-1804) and Hannah Smith (1718-1812). According to Martin Hollick http://mhollick.typepad.com/slovakyankee/2010/09/article-ahnentafel.html Hannah was daughter of John Smith and Elizabeth Buss, who was daughter of John Buss and Elizabeth Bradbury, who was daughter of Thomas Bradbury and Mary Perkins. Thomas Bradbury has (apparently) been proven to have royal descent from Louis IV, as he is listed with sources in Gary Boyd Roberts's royal descent book. His line from Louis IV has been listed as the following... 1. Louis IV, King of France, d 954 (probable grandson maternally of Edward the Elder, King of England, d 924) = Gerberga, daughter of Henry I the Fowler, German Emperor, d 936 2. Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine = Adelaide ---- 3. Adelaide of Lower Lorraine = Albert I, Count of Namur 4. Albert II, Count of Namur = Regelinde of Lower Lorraine 5. Albert III, Count of Namur = Ida of Saxony 6. Godfrey, Count of Namur = Sybil of Chateau-Porcien 7. Elizabeth of Namur = Gervais, Count of Rethel 8. Millicent of Rethel = Robert Marmion 9. Robert Marmion = ---- 10. William Marmion = ---- 11. Geoffrey Marmion = Rosamond ---- 12. William Marmion = Matilda (le Justice?) 13. John Marmion = Margery of Nottingham 14. Thomas Marmion = Agnes ---- 15. Alice Marmion = William Harlyngrugge 16. Cecilia Harlyngrugge = John Rede 17. Joan Rede = Walter Cotton 18. William Cotton = Alice Abbott 19. Catherine Cotton = Thomas Heigham 20. Clement Heigham = Matilda Cooke 21. Clement Heigham = Anne Munnings 22. Elizabeth Heigham = Henry Eden 23. Anne Eden = William Bradbury 24. Wymond Bradbury = Elizabeth Whitgift, niece of John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury 25. Thomas Bradbury of Mass = Mary Perkins http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/MAESSEX/2002-09/1031928208