Browning was born in
Edna, Texas, grew up in
Jackson County, Texas, and graduated from
Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1937, majoring in both math and physics. During World War II, he served in the
U.S. Army Air Corps. Subsequently, he earned an M.A. at the
University of Texas at Austin in 1947, and then his doctorate (Ph.D.) the following year at the same school. His doctorate was in zoology, with minors in genetics and bacteriology. Browning worked in various scientific fields, including artificial intelligence and bio-engineering, and eventually became interested in long-term weather forecasting and climate changes. He believed that climatic fluctuations are caused by changes in the amount of particulate matter in the atmosphere mostly from volcanic activity. He believed that volcanic activity can be triggered by land tidal forces caused by the Moon, Earth's elliptical orbit of the Sun, and the alignment of these three bodies. His climate predictions assumed that the dust thrown into the atmosphere by those eruptions reflects sunlight, which results in climatic cooling. Browning believed that climatic changes, especially cooling, are associated with increased troubles in human society, including famine, revolutions, and war. After founding
The Browning Newsletter in 1974, Browning described his climatic theories and findings in
Climate and the Affairs of Men (1975), which he co-authored with Nels Winkless III. At that time, he believed that Earth had been through a long warm period and was moving into a dangerous cooling phase. He also declared that he had not detected any effect of human activity on the climate. Browning received notoriety for his erroneous
prediction that a major
earthquake would occur on the
New Madrid Fault around December 2 and 3, 1990. This prediction had no scientific legitimacy, Browning wrote four books, held 90 patents, and served as a
climatologist and business consultant to
Paine Webber in various scientific and engineering fields. He was married to the former Florence Pinto and had one daughter, Evelyn Browning-Garriss., who succeeded him as editor of 'The Browning Newsletter'. He lived his later years in Albuquerque, and died at his home there on July 18, 1991, from a heart attack at the age of 73. == References ==