The Honourable

The Honourable

The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...

 Tara Browne (4 March 1945 – 18 December 1966) was a young London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 socialite

Socialite

A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....

. He is perhaps most famous today for serving as an inspiration of the Beatles song "A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life

"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, the final track on the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions...

".

Biography

Browne was the son of Dominick Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne

Dominick Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne

Dominick Geoffrey Edward Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne, 2nd Baron Mereworth was the longest sitting British peer and legislator....

, a member of the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 since 1927 who later became famous for having served in that house longer than any other peer, finally being evicted during government reforms in 1999

House of Lords Act 1999

The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...

; and Oonagh Guinness, heiress to the Guinness

Guinness

Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...

 fortune and the youngest of the three "Golden Guinness Girls". One of his older brothers was the Hon. Garech Browne

Garech Browne

The Hon. Garech Domnagh Browne, born 25 June, 1939, is a member of the titled family of Oranmore and Browne in the West of Ireland and is a wealthy patron of Irish arts, notably traditional Irish music...

, of Luggala, County Wicklow in Ireland, an enthusiast of traditional Irish music

Music of Ireland

Irish Music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th, and into the 21st century, despite globalizing cultural forces...

 and a founding member of The Chieftains

The Chieftains

The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...

, Ireland's leading group of traditional musicians.

Tara Browne was a member of Swinging London

Swinging London

Swinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasised the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the...

's counterculture

Counterculture

Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...

 of the 1960s.

Death

On 18 December 1966, Browne was driving with his girlfriend, model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

 Suki Potier, in his Lotus Elan

Lotus Elan

Lotus Elan is the name of two convertible cars and one fixed head coupé produced by Lotus Cars. The original Type 26, 26R Racing version , 36R Racing version , 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans...

 through South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....

 at high speed (some reports suggesting in excess of 106 mph/170 km/h). It is not known whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol

Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...

. He failed to see a traffic light

Traffic light

Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...

 and proceeded through the junction of Redcliffe Square

Redcliffe Square

Redcliffe Square is a town square located in the Kensington area of southwest central London, England . Recliffe Square Gardens are located in the square....

 and Redcliffe Gardens

Redcliffe Gardens

Redcliffe Gardens is a major street located in the Kensington area of southwest central London, England .Redcliffe Gardens runs northwest–southeast through Redcliffe Square. To the east is The Boltons. To the southwest is Brompton Cemetery. At the northwest end is a junction with Lillie Road ,...

, colliding with a parked lorry

Truck

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...

 and dying of his injuries the following day. Potier claimed Browne swerved the car to absorb the impact of the crash to save her life.

Browne was survived by his wife Noreen (McSherry) and their two sons, Dorian and Julian Browne.

A Day in the Life

On 17 January 1967 John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

, a friend of Browne's, was composing music at his piano whilst idly reading London's Daily Mail

Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

and happened upon the news of the coroner's verdict into Browne's death. He worked the story into the song "A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life

"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, the final track on the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions...

", later released on the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...

. The first verse features the following lines.

He blew his mind out in a car

He didn't notice that the lights had changed

A crowd of people stood and stared

They'd seen his face before

Nobody was really sure

If he was from the House of Lords

A less-known memorial to Browne was composed by Seán Ó Riada

Seán Ó Riada

Seán Ó Riada , was a composer and perhaps the single most influential figure in the revival of Irish traditional music during the 1960s...

.