Marshall David Brain was an American author, public speaker, and entrepreneur. A college instructor and computer programmer, Brain is the founder of HowStuffWorks. Marshall was born in Santa Monica, California. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. Brain earned a master’s degreein computer science from North Carolina State University (NCSU). Before founding HowStuffWorks, Marshall taught in the computer science department at NCSU for six years. He has written computer programming manuals and has run a software training and consulting company.

Marshall founded the website HowStuffWorks.com in 1998 and ran the site until 2002, when he sold it to The Convex Group, an Atlanta-based investment company owned by former Web MD CEO Jeff Arnold, for around $1 million. In 2007, Convex sold it to Discovery Communications for $250 million. Since 2008, a television documentary with the same name has aired on the Discovery Channel.

In his last professional position Marshall returned to NCSU and was appointed Director of the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program. Reliable sources report that he was forced into retirement at NCSU after filing an ethics complaint. His cause of death was ruled to be a suicide. Marshall left behind a loving wife and four children. Our heart goes out to the Brain family, and to all who suffer from suicideal ideation. Much work remains to be done to improve our mental health care and services. Many of us suffer in silence. If you or others you know have any thoughts of self-harm, please reach out for anonymous, confidential help at any of the Suicide Crisis Hotlines in countries around the world. Caring people are waiting to listen and to help.

We thank Marshall for his curiosity, vision, and long service to all who want to better understand our complex world, and build a better future for everyone.