Oscar Browning was orn in London, the son of a merchant, William Shipton Browning. He was educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, of which he became fellow and tutor, graduating fourth in the classical tripos of 1860.

He was for fifteen years a master at Eton College, resuming residence in 1876 at Cambridge, where he became university lecturer in history. He soon became a prominent figure in college and university life, encouraging especially the study of political science and modern political history, the extension of university teaching and the movement for the training of teachers.

An academic and music lover, and a Wagner and Liszt historian, he loved to travel. He is well known to Dante students, and he has contributed to the study of Italian history, and modern history.