Short answers, pulled from the story.
Brown University was founded in 1764 when the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a charter drafted by Ezra Stiles and William Ellery. This charter explicitly forbade religious tests for admission and established a board of trustees composed of 22 Baptists, 5 Quakers, 5 Episcopalians, and 4 Congregationalists.
Nicholas Brown Jr. donated $5,000 to the struggling Rhode Island College in 1804, which entitled him to name the institution Brown University. This donation was the first of many totaling nearly $160,000 over the years that funded the construction of Hope College and Manning Hall.
President Ruth Simmons established a steering committee to investigate the university's ties to slavery in 2003. This committee was formed to address the complex history of the institution and the internal conflict within the Brown family regarding the transatlantic slave trade.
The institution was born from a petition by Ezra Stiles, William Ellery, and Josias Lyndon. Ezra Stiles later became president of Yale, William Ellery signed the Declaration of Independence, and Josias Lyndon became a future governor.