He was born in
Yorkshire, and was educated first under private tuition at
Scarborough, and then at a grammar school at Hull under
Joseph Milner. He entered
Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1782 as a
sizar. Brown did not take a degree, but was ordained
deacon in the
Church of England in 1785, by
Richard Watson. He was appointed to a chaplaincy in Bengal. In 1788 Brown gave up the orphanage position, incompatible with his work as pastor at the Old Mission Church, founded by
John Kiernander. In 1794 Brown was appointed presidency chaplain. Among his close friends were
Henry Martyn,
Claudius Buchanan, and
Thomas Thomason. In 1803 Brown bought Aldeen House in
Serampore, and made it his home. The grounds included a deserted temple. At this time Serampore was a colony of
Danish India, and while the East India Company opposed missionary activity, the Lutheran Danish government was sympathetic, in particular to
William Carey. Under the name the Pagoda, the abandoned
Radha-vallabha temple next to the
River Hooghly was used as an
oratory by Henry Martyn, who often stayed with Brown. Aldeen House became a place of meeting of Baptist missionaries such as Carey, and the group of evangelical Anglican chaplains in Bengal. While personal relations were good, there were also tensions: Brown opposed Baptist efforts with the Calcutta Benevolent Institution, a free school, and there was a power struggle within the Serampore mission. Brown's health was failing in 1812. He embarked, for the benefit of sea air, in a vessel bound for
Madras, which was wrecked on the voyage down the
Bay of Bengal. The passengers and crew were rescued by another vessel and taken back to Calcutta. Funeral sermons were preached by
Daniel Corrie and Thomas Thomason. ==Family==