[1] She was the daughter of Barnum Brown, a paleontologist and curator at the American Museum of Natural History who discovered the Tyrannosaurus rex.
[1][2][3] She was the daughter of Marion (née Raymond) and Barnum Brown, a paleontologist and curator with the American Museum of Natural History who discovered and named the Tyrannosaurus rex.
[4][5][6] Her grieving father left her with her maternal grandparents, Mary and Charles W. Brown in Oxford, New York.
[1][11] She took graduate classes at St. Hugh's College, Oxford and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
[12] Brown began her career in education teaching in Baltimore and at the Hannah Moore Academy in Restertown, Maryland.
[1][2] When Arlington was closed in 1942 for use by the military during World War II, Brown did editorial work for the American Red Cross at its headquarter in Washington, D.C. for eighteen months.
[1][12] Then, she followed Carrie Sutherlin, the former president of Arlington Hall, to a new position at Chevy Chase Junior College.
[13][2] When Sutherlin retired in 1947, Brown replaced her as acting president of Chevy Chase Junior College on July 1, 1947.
[1] Brown announced that the junior college would not reopen in August 1950, right before the scheduled start of the new school year.
[14] She said the college was closing due to "low enrollment, rising costs, and the uncertainty of the international situation".