Browning Day Celebration To Be Held April 23

by Alan Hunt

Baylor University's annual Browning Day celebration will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, in the Elizabeth Barrett Browning Salon of Baylor's renowned Armstrong Browning Library.
Browning Day celebrates the birthdays of Victorian poets Robert Browning (May 7) and Elizabeth Barrett Browning (March 6) and former Baylor English department chair Dr. A.J. Armstrong (March 29). The program is free and open to the public.
This year's celebration will unveil the recently restored 1857 Chickering piano, an antique square piano that had been housed at Armstrong Browning Library for some time but was unplayable. After a year of work at a cost of nearly $15,000, the piano was restored to concert standard by Alejandro Miranda of Baylor's School of Music.
The Browning Day celebration also will include a performance by soprano Julie Davis, a member of the Baylor Chamber Singers. Following the celebration, refreshments will be available in the Cox Reception Hall.
Dedicated on Dec. 2, 1951, Armstrong Browning Library is famous for housing the world's largest collection of works relating to the Brownings. It contains printed and personal possessions of the poets, including many of their handwritten manuscripts and letters. The building and its artifacts were a life-long project for Armstrong, who was affiliated with Baylor for more than 40 years. He died March 31, 1954, two days after his 81st birthday.
Due to limited seating, reservations for the Browning Day celebration can be made by calling (254) 710-3566.