Percy E. Brown was born on a farm near Woodbridge, New Jersey, on October 9, 1885. He received his B.S. (1906), A.M. (1909), and Ph.D. (1912) from Rutgers University. Dr. Brown joined the Iowa State College (University) faculty as Assistant Professor (1910-1912) of soil bacteriology. He was soon promoted to Associate Professor (1912-1914) and then Professor (1914-1932). Dr. Brown became Head of the Department of Agronomy (1932-1937) and remained the department head until his sudden death in 1937. His major interests of study included soil bacteriology, soil fertility, and soil survey.

Dr. Brown was associated with numerous professional organizations including: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Iowa Academy of Science, the American Chemical Society, the American Society of Agronomy, the American Soil Survey Association, the Soil Science Society of America, and the International Society of Soil Scientists. Dr. Brown was also consulting editor of Soil Science and business manager and Editor-in-Chief of the Iowa State College Journal of Science. He was active in a number of honor societies including Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Zeta, Gamma Sigma Delta, Phi Lambda Upsilon, and Phi Beta Kappa.

He died on July 8, 1937, in Ames, Iowa due to a heart attack.

This collection contains an assortment of Dr. Brown's articles and published works along with some biographical materials. The articles contain research on soil survey, conservation, and fertility. The collection is in alphabetical order.