Bradford Ezra Steiner was born on November 28, 1917, in Calcutta, India, to Ezra B. and Elizabeth Geigher Steiner, missionaries to India. Steiner graduated from Woodstock School, Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1933. In 1939 he graduated with a B.S. degree from Wheaton College, where he had been active in the a cappella choir, orchestra, soccer league, pre-med society, literature society, and Foreign Missions Fellowship. He received an M.D. degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1943 and served his internship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL, frin 1943 to 1944. From 1952 to 1953 and again from 1957 to 1958, Steiner was a surgical resident at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Hines, IL.

Steiner married Martha Ellen Milbourne in 1942. (Five children were born to the couple: Natalie, Cheryl (deceased), Douglas, Suzanne, and Mark.) He served as both a reserve (1942-1952) and active (1944-1946) member of the U.S. Navy, participated in the Normandy and Okinawa invasions, and was stationed at Naval hospitals at Great Lakes, IL; Philadelphia, PA; and Dublin, GA.

Steiner began service at the Landour Community Hospital, Mussoorie, India, in 1947, working with The Evangelical Alliance Mission. He joined his father and mother in missionary work along the borders of Tibet and Nepal, as did his sister Anita, together with her husband, Charles Warren. While in India, he was also a member of the Tibetan Frontier Mission and of the Hill Villages Mission. The Steiners served in India until 1958, when they were placed on the inactive missionary list due to physical problems. Upon returning to the United States, Steiner opened a private practice in Northlake, IL, and was on the staff of Elmhurst Memorial Hospital. He was also the school physician for District #87 of Cook County, IL. In 1965, Steiner went on a short-term assignment in Korea and Japan. He died of a heart attack on January 3, 1987.