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 342 BROWN institution, N. II. In 1845 his health compelled him to remove south, and he became pastor of a church in Lexington, Va., where he remained till 1849. He then removed to Pennsylvania, and was appointed editorial secretary of the American Baptist publication society. He was also editor of the " Christian Chronicle " and the "National Baptist." At the time of his death he was engaged upon a history of the Baptist denomination. BROWN, Nicholas, the principal patron of Brown university, born in Providence, K. I., April 4, 1769, died Oct. 27, 1841. He was lib- erally educated at the Rhode Island college, at the age of 22 inherited an ample fortune, and founded the mercantile house of Brown and Ives, one of the most successful in the country. In 1796 he was chosen secretary of Rhode Isl- and college, which office he retained till 1825, when he was elected to the board of fellows. When first made secretary he presented the college with $5,000 and a good law library, in consequence of which the name of the college was changed to that of Brown university. In 1823 he built a second college edifice entirely at his own expense. His gifts to the universi- ty amounted in all to $100,000. He also con- tributed largely to the Providence Athenaeum, and aided in the building of churches and the endowment of colleges in every part of the country. He bequeathed $30,000 for the es- tablishment of an insane asylum at Providence. _ BROWN, Robert, an English Puritan theolo- gian, founder of the sect of Brownists, born about 1550, died about 1630. His family was nearly connected with Cecil, afterward Lord Burleigh. He studied at Corpus Christ! col- lege, Cambridge, where he first imbibed his Puritan beliefs from Thomas Cartwright, then professor of divinity. Cartwright's views were, however, only the germs of the opinions soon developed by Brown, who on leaving Cam- bridge at once began a vigorous opposition to the whole discipline and liturgy of the estab- lished church. Acting as a schoolmaster, lec- turer, and preacher at Islington, he neverthe- less devoted much of his time to excursions about the country, delivering polemical ad- dresses. For the agitation thus created he was for a short time imprisoned by the bishop of Norwich in 1580 or 1581 ; but on acknowl- edging that he had employed wrong means in the propagation of his theories, he was re- leased. He next became pastor of a Dutch society of Anabaptists at Norwich, and made many converts to his doctrines. The viru- lence of his attacks on the Anglican hierarchy caused him to be summoned before an ecclesi- astical commission, who again placed him in custody, but Lord Burleigh procured his re- lease. These and other imprisonments, cen- sures, and persecutions caused many to look upon Brown as a martyr for conscience, and he gained a considerable following. But con- stant interference with his congregation now forced him to leave England, and he and his followers went to Holland and Zealand, where they established themselves. Their principal congregation was at Middelburg in Zealand ; others were at Amsterdam and Leyden. Here they speedily became involved in dissensions with the sects about them, and finally quar- relled among themselves. Brown returned to England in 1585, and after preaching for a time at Norwich as before, and subjecting himself first to admonition by the bishop, and then, by his persistency, to excommunication, he sud- denly announced his recantation, and begged for readmission into the established church. This was accorded him in 1590, and he was soon made rector of a small church near Thrapston, Northamptonshire. During the remainder of his life he is said to have been idle and dissolute, seldom entering his church. He died in prison, whither he had been sent for resisting a constable who had demanded his taxes. The views held by Brown and his followers were briefly these : Every religious congregation should constitute an independent, self-governing body, whose minister should be chosen by it. All members of such a congre- gation should be equal ; and a layman might act as minister, or question the minister. There should be no fixed forms of prayer, but this should be extempore. Marriage should not be celebrated in the churches, but consid- ered as a civil contract. The Brownists also desired change in many minor points. Brown's followers maintained these principles after his defection, and rapidly grew into the large and influential sect of Independents. Brown's principal writings are: "A Treatise of Refor- mation, without tarrying for any Man ; " "A Treatise on the Trinity, third chapter of St. Matthew," &c. ; and "A Book which showeth the Life and Manners of all True Christians." These were published together at Middelburg in 1582. BROWN, Robert, a British botanist, born at Montrose, Dec. 21, 1773, died in London, June 10, 1858. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, and was appointed botanist in the Australian expedition of Capt. Flinders, which sailed in July, 1801. Accompanied by the flower painter Frederick Bauer, he visited the coasts of Aus- tralia, Tasmania, and many of the islands of Bass's strait, returning to England in 1805 with a rich collection of plants, comprising more than 4,000 different species. He was then appointed conservator of the botanical collections of Sir Joseph Banks and librarian of the Linnaaan society, and labored several years at the methodical arrangement of the nu- merous species of plants collected in New Hol- land. An outline of this labor was published in 1810, under the title of Prodromvs Florae Nova Hollandias. In 1814 he published his "Gene- ral Remarks on the Botany of Terra Australis," as an appendix to Flinders's narrative, and in 1830 a Supplementum primum Flora Nova Hollandia. He also described and classified the different species of plants collected, be-