He was the son of Jane (née Woodcock) and William Brown; his father was a bootmaker and Methodist lay preacher.

Brown attended Clay Cross Grammar School on a scholarship and was then apprenticed to a patternmaker at a steam-engine manufacturing company.

His activities drew the attention of the Commonwealth Investigation Branch, which reported that he was involved with "the worst revolutionary elements of Brisbane".

His radicalism waned, and he later found work as an agent for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and as a salesman for Finney Isles and Co., a furniture and drapery firm.

He remained President until 19 March 1951, when the Liberal Party took control of the Senate and elected Ted Mattner to replace him.

He suffered a stroke in July 1951 while speaking on the Constitution Alteration (Powers to Deal with Communists and Communism) Bill, causing him to slump across his desk.

[6][7][8] A state funeral was held on Saturday 14 January 1967 at St Philip's Anglican Church in Annerley and then the East Chapel of Mount Thompson Crematorium.