Louise Joy Brown (born July 25, 1978) is an English woman known for being the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.
On November 10, 1977, Lesley Brown underwent a procedure, later to become known as IVF (in vitro fertilization), developed by Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine for this work. Although the media referred to Brown as a “test tube baby”, her conception actually took place in a petri dish. Her younger sister, Natalie Brown, was also conceived through IVF four years later, and became the world’s fortieth IVF baby. In May 1999, Natalie was the first IVF baby to give birth herself—naturally—to daughter Casey. Natalie has subsequently had three additional children; sons Christopher, Daniel, and Aeron, the last of whom was born in August 2013.
In 2004, Brown married nightclub doorman (bouncer) Wesley Mullinder. Dr. Edwards attended their wedding. Their son Cameron, conceived naturally, was born on 20 December 20, 2006. Brown’s second son, Aiden, was born in August 2013.