Happy 75th birthday, Armstrong Browning Library!

For 75 years, Baylor’s Armstrong Browning Library (ABL) has been a leading destination for Browning scholars from all over the world as a research library devoted to the study of the lives and works of Victorian poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

The library is noted for both its breathtaking beauty and for holding the world’s largest collection of books, letters, manuscripts, and memorabilia pertaining to the Brownings, as well as a substantial collection of primary and secondary materials related to 19th-century literature and culture.

And while people may be familiar with the name Browning, they may not know of the tremendous work of the Armstrongs.

Dr. A.J. Armstrong and his wife, Mary Maxwell Armstrong, shared a dream — and turned it into a reality by accumulating the world’s largest collection of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning letters, manuscripts, likenesses and mementos at Baylor University.

Realizing the need for a facility to house the collection, Armstrong went to Baylor President Pat Neff, who gave Armstrong $100,000 and charged him to raise the remaining funds. Armstrong managed to raise over $1.6 million, even amidst the Great Depression and World War II, to build what is now Armstrong Browning Library — dedicated Dec. 2, 1951.

This week’s Armstrong Browning Library & Museum 75th Anniversary Celebration welcomes past and present researchers, supporters, and many others who love the library and all it represents. A two-day symposium features a host of scholars on the Brownings and related subjects, capped with an evening that combines food, music, poetry readings, art, exhibits, conversations, tours, and more into an experience that honors the past and looks forward to a bright future for ABL.

Happy 75th to a world-renowned resource, and a Baylor icon.

Sic ’em, Armstrong Browning Library!

You may also like:
* Why does Baylor have the world’s leading collection of two Victorian-era English poets? (Aug. 2022)
* Six unique collections you’ll find right here at Baylor (April 2019)
* Who was Dr. A.J. Armstrong? (April 2018)