Robert Browning was born.
Robert Browning ( 7 May 1812 -- 12 December 1889 ) was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of the dramatic monologue made him one of the foremost Victorian poets . They went to live in Italy , a country he called `` my university '' , and which features frequently in his work . Today Browning 's critically most esteemed poems include the monologues Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came , Fra Lippo Lippi , Andrea Del Sarto , and My Last Duchess .