Oscar Browning, as caricatured in Vanity Fair (1888)
Born
(1837-01-17)17 January 1837
London, England
Died
6 October 1923(1923-10-06) (aged 86)
Rome, Italy
Nationality
British
Occupations
Teacher
historian
Years active
1860–1923
Known for
Pioneer of professional training for teachers
Oscar BrowningOBE (17 January 1837 – 6 October 1923) was a British educationalist, historian and bon viveur, a well-known Cambridge personality during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. An innovator in the early development of professional training for teachers, he served as principal of the Cambridge University Day Training College (CUDTC) from 1891 to 1909. He was also a prolific author of popular histories and other books.
The son of a prosperous distiller, Browning was educated at Eton, and then King's College, Cambridge. On graduating in 1860 he returned to Eton as an assistant master. A vociferous and active opponent of the school's traditional curriculum and teaching methods, he introduced novel and progressive techniques to the classroom, to the general approval of his pupils but to the dismay of the Eton authorities. He was controversially dismissed from his post in 1875, ostensibly because of repeated disregard for school rules, but an underlying issue was disquiet arising from his lifestyle, particularly his close and affectionate relationships with boys under his care.
Browning returned to King's, where he continued his individualistic approach to teaching, and rapidly established himself as a leading Cambridge personality. Again, his methods were far more popular with his students than with his colleagues. An avid social climber and self-promotionist, he cultivated a range of acquaintances in the social and political worlds – he stood unsuccessfully three times for Parliament – and published a number of books on English, European and world history. He also wrote on educational theory and produced a well-regarded biography of the writer George Eliot. Despite this output, he failed to gain scholastic recognition and was repeatedly overlooked for higher college posts and academic honours. However, his pioneering work in teacher education, particularly through his leadership of the CUDTC, was later recognised as a formative factor in the development of the university's present-day Department of Education.
After his retirement in 1909 Browning moved to Rome and remained active as a writer until his death in 1923. Among his late works were two volumes of autobiography and further historical works, including a history of Italy. At the end of his life, having earlier been denied a knighthood, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to education.
OscarBrowning OBE (17 January 1837 – 6 October 1923) was a British educationalist, historian and bon viveur, a well-known Cambridge personality during...
OscarBrown Jr. (October 10, 1926 – May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor. Aside from his...
'Peterborough' in The Daily Telegraph. Wortham was the nephew of OscarBrowning. In June 1923 Browning sent a letter to Wortham requesting him to write a biography...
This is a list of the published works of OscarBrowning, teacher, historian and educationalist, whose active life extended from the mid-Victorian period...
(eds.) The Brownings' Correspondence. 29 vols. to date. (Wedgestone, 1984–) (Complete letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning, so far to...
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C. Lubenow, who posits that Hornby "turfed out William Johnson and OscarBrowning because they were liberal reformers in a highly authoritarian institution...
Bobby Timmons that was recorded in 1960. Lyrics were written later by OscarBrown, Jr. The song was first recorded by Bobby Timmons in his debut album...
recordings. In the early 1950s, he began performing with Brown and drummer Charlie Smith as the Oscar Peterson Trio. Shortly afterward Smith was replaced by...
Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer...
Melegari. The authors Maurice Barrès, William Boyle, Henry Bradley, OscarBrowning, John Cadvan Davies, Louis Couperus, Demetru Demetrescu-Buzău (known...
albums for Nancy Wilson, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, Johnny Griffin, OscarBrown Jr., Charles Mingus, Billy Taylor, and Mal Waldron. Dennis began his...
scholar to King's College, Cambridge, where he first read history under OscarBrowning. He won the Chancellor's Gold Medal for English Verse in 1899, and the...
Anatole France, the brothers Reginald "Rex" Leeper and Allen Leeper, OscarBrowning, James Frazer, Bernard Pares, Samuel Hoare, Leonard Woolf and Salvador...
& Rock & Roll (2010) features Bill Milner as Baxter. In 2002 Dury's OscarBrown EP was "Record of the Week" in NME. In 2014 he signed a new recording...
Washington, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Alfre Woodard, Muhammad Ali, and OscarBrown Jr. Weldon's mother was Beatrice Jennings; his father was Roosevelt Weldon...
were the theatre manager Sir Bronson Albery, the teacher and historian OscarBrowning, the author Daphne du Maurier (at the house, no. 24, of her father,...
editions, which have identical text, credit these sections to T.G. Bonney; OscarBrowning; T.G. Bonney; T.G. Bonney; H.H.S. Pearse; W. Senior; T.G. Bonney; Jason...
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