Ian Brown graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1940 with a BSc and was awarded a DSc by the University of Adelaide in 1966. He began his career in chemistry in January 1941, working as an assistant chemist in the Birkenhead laboratory of the Shell Company. Later that year he occupied a similar position with Beckers Pty Ltd. In 1942 Ian Brown began work in the CSIR Division of Industrial Chemistry. He continued to work for the CSIR/O for 36 years, retiring in 1978.

Gilbert Brown graduated MB ChB from the University of Liverpool in 1908. He migrated to Australia in 1912, first joining a general practice in Snowtown, South Australia, and later at Gilberton, near Adelaide. In 1914 he was joined in Australia by Dr Marie Simpson, the couple married upon her arrival in Adelaide. Their son Ian was born in 1917. During the first world war Brown served in the Australian Imperial Forces as a captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps. Gilbert Brown was a pioneer of modern anaesthesia in Australia and was the first president of the Australian Society of Anaesthetists. He was decorated with a CBE in 1953.

Marie Brown graduated MB BS from the Royal Free Medical School in London in 1907. In 1913 she undertook a diploma in Public Health at Sheffield University, a subject which she would remain interested in throughout her career. She migrated to Australia in 1914, marrying Dr Gilbert Brown on the day of her arrival in Adelaide in November, and then joined him in his practice in Snowtown. Their son Ian was born in 1917. For many years Marie Brown was associated with the Mothers and Babies' Health Association, as a committee member and as deputy chief medical officer. She was also honorary medical officer of the Kindergarten Union and a member of the National Council of Women. She retired in 1946.