Walter Shawn Browne, American chess player was born on 10 January 1949 in Sydney. His peak World Ranking is 27th (in two different months between December 1975 and January 1976). According to Chessmetrics his highest rating is 2678.

Browne played in three Interzonals but he could not qualify for the Candidates Tournament.

He participated in 6 Chess Olympiads between 1970 and 1984. In 1970 and 72 he was playing for Australia, after that he played for the United States. In 1972 he won individual bronze. That was his only individual medal. With the American team he won bronze all four times.

He died on 24 June 2015 at the age of 66.