Biography
Nicholas Brown, Jr. was the son of Nicholas Brown, Sr., a merchant and co-founder of Brown University (which was then called College of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations). He was the nephew of John Brown and Moses Brown and a descendant of the renowned English pilgrim and Baptist minister Chad Brown. Both Nicholas Brown, Jr. and his father were members of and large donors to the First Baptist Church in America. Nicholas Brown, Jr. graduated from the College of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1786. Brown created the company of Brown & Ives and served in the state legislature as a Federalist. After inheriting his father's estate in 1791, Brown became such a great benefactor to the school that it was renamed Brown University for him in 1804 when he donated $5,000 to the college. His total gifts to the college totaled over $150,000. Brown also co-founded the Providence Athenaeum and was active in various Baptist and literary causes. When Brown died in 1841 he left a $30,000 bequest to form a mental hospital, which eventually became known as Butler Hospital.
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