Robert Browning was born.
Browning societies were groups of people who met regularly to discuss the works of Robert Browning . 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 . In 1846 Browning married the older poet Elizabeth Barrett , who at the time was considerably better known than himself . Such Browning Societies remained common in Britain and the United States until the early 20th century . 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 .