Francis Fisher Browne

Francis Fisher Browne (December 1, 1843 – May 11, 1913) was an American editor, poet, and literary critic. Browne was one of the founders and later, an honorary member of the Chicago Literary Club, the Caxton Club (Chicago) and The Twilight Club of Pasadena (California). He served as the Chairman of Committee on Congress at the World's Congress Auxiliary of the Columbian Exhibition, (Chicago World's Fair) in the summer of 1893. Browne was at the forefront of the 20th century intellectual and literary scene in Chicago, Illinois. A transplant from New England, Browne settled in Chicago in 1867 and founded the literary journal, The Dial, which was a revival of Margaret Fuller's transcendental periodical and served as a venue for modernist literature. Over the years, he had become close friends with John Muir, John Burroughs, Walt Witman, and other notable figures. Biography Early life Browne was born in South Halifax, Vermont, to parents, William Goldsmith Browne and Eunice (Fisher) Browne. His father was a poet, best known for his poem and hymn, "A Hundred Years To Come." Browne learned the printing trade, working in his father's newspaper, The Chicopee Journal, while he attended high school in Chicopee, Massachusetts.