Father Brown in a fictional character created by which author?

Father Brown is a priest who is the protagonist of a series of detective stories by G.K. Chesterton. The character was based on a priest Chesterton had met. This priest had acquired a deep understanding of human evil by listening to confessions.

G.K. Chesterton, in full Gilbert Keith Chesterton, (born May 29, 1874, London, England—died June 14, 1936, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire), was an English critic and author of verse, essays, novels, and short stories, known also for his exuberant personality and rotund figure.

In his verse Chesterton was a master of ballad forms. His writings to 1910 were of three kinds. First, his social criticism, his second preoccupation was literary criticism.Chesterton’s third major concern was theology and religious argument. He was converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1922.

Many readers value Chesterton’s fiction most highly and the most successful association of fiction with social judgment is in Chesterton’s series on the priest-sleuth Father Brown. The character was depicted in several films as well as a 1973 British television series.