Poet. At twelve he wrote a book of verse called "Incondita", which his parents unsuccessfully tried to have published. He was educated at home by his father and various tutors, learning Latin, Greek, Italian, and French by the age of fourteen. In 1833 at age 21, he anonymously published his first major work, 'Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession.' In 1835 he published 'Paracelsus,' and in 1840, 'Sordello,' the former was well received, but the latter condemned as incomprehensible. From 1841 to 1846, he published seven plays in verse, including 'Pippa Passes' (1841), 'A Blot in the ’Scutcheon' (1843), and 'Luria' (1846), none of which were particularly successful. In 1844, he first read the work of Elizabeth Barrett, after which, the pair opened a correspondence. They met in 1845, and when her father disregarded her doctor's suggestion she travel to Italy for her health, Browning married her secretly in September 1846, and took her to Pisa. The couple would have one son. They took a flat in in Florence, Italy which would remain their home for the rest of Barrett's life, visiting England only on holiday. In 1849, his 'Collected Poems' was published, and inspired by his wife, 'Men and Women,' which he dedicated to her, was published in 1855. In June 1861, his wife's always precarious health failed, and she died in his arms. That fall, he returned to London with his son where he prepared his wife’s 'Last Poems' for publication. By 1863, another collection of his poems was published, and his next book, 'Dramatis Personae' (1864) became a best seller, running to two printings. 'The Ring and the Book' (1868), is considered by many to be among his most important work. Others works included 'Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau ' (1871), 'Fifine at the Fair ' (1872), 'Red Cotton Night-Cap Country' (1873), 'The Inn Album' (1875), 'Dramatic Idyls' (1879), 'Balaustion’s Adventure' (1871), and 'Aristophanes’ Apology' (1875). The earliest Browning Society was founded in 1877, and were dedicated to regularly meeting to discuss his works. The societies were an indication of the poet's widespread fame and influence even in his own lifetime. Such societies still exist. He received honorary degrees from Oxford University in 1882 and the University of Edinburgh in 1884. In 1889 while in Venice, he fell seriously ill and succumbed at the age of 77. Coincidentally, his last work, 'Asolando: Fancies and Facts,' was published on the same day.