William Brown belonged to a Maryland family strikingly devoted to medicine. His grandfather, Gustavus Brown of "Rich Hills, " Charles County, his uncle, Gustavus Richard Brown of Port Tobacco, his brother, Gustavus Brown of St. Mary's County, and his own son, Gustavus Alexander Brown, were all medical men. A child of Richard and Helen (Bailey) Brown, he was born in Had-dingtonshire, Scotland, where his father was studying for the ministry.
His early education was obtained in King and Queen Parish, St. Mary's County, Maryland, and his academic and medical education in the University of Edinburgh where he received his M. D. degree in 1770.
After graduation form the University of Edinburgh, William Brown returned to America and settled in Alexandria, Virginia where he soon established a reputation as a physician. He was a man of culture and was well acquainted with the American leaders of the day, particularly with Washington, Jefferson, and Madison.
On the outbreak of the Revolutionary War he was appointed surgeon to the 2nd Virginia Regiment (Colonel Woodford). After serving with this regiment about a year he was appointed by Congress, on the recommendation of Dr. Hugh Mercer, to succeed Dr. Benjamin Rush as surgeongeneral to the middle department of the Revolutionary army.
In February 1778, he was promoted to the office of physician-general to superintend the practise of physic in the army hospital of the middle department. This position he held until July 21, 1780, when he resigned and returned to practise in Alexandria. The physicians who served in the Virginia regiments during the Revolutionary War were entitled by a law of the state not only to their pay but also to a land bounty, provided they served for a period of three years.
As Brown resigned after serving with a Virginia regiment for only a year he forfeited his rights, but the esteem in which he was held was so high that in a special act passed on October 21, 1782 he was given not only his back pay but also his land bounty.
He was chairman of the trustees of Alexandria Academy, a position which he accepted at the direct request of George Washington. His tombstone, now in the churchyard of the Old Pohick Church, near Alexandria, Viriginia, sets forth his patience, diligence, and skill as a physician, and his benevolence and integrity as a man.
While William Brown was serving in the Revolutionary army, in 1778, he brought out the first pharmacopeia ever published in the United States, a pamphlet of thirty-two pages, written entirely in Latin. This pharmacopeia was designed to serve the military hospitals and was based on the Edinburgh Pharmacopeia of that day, modified to suit the exigencies of the times, since the pressure of war made certain standard supplies unobtainable. Brown's career as a general practitioner both before and after the Revolutionary War amply demonstrated his efficiency and popularity.
He was married to his cousin, Catherine Scott, of Kalorama, near Washington, D. C. , by whom he is said to have had a large family.
