Browman, Audra Arnold, 1909-2002

Audra Arnold Browman was born to Leila Beeman and Harold DeForest Arnold on May 16, 1909 in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. She was born on the family farm in the same bed as Lucy Stone, a well-known suffragette and Browman’s great-great-aunt.

Browman received her B.A. from Mt. Holyoke, her M.A. from Stanford University, and her PhD from the University of Chicago in biochemistry. She met Ludvig G. Browman while they were both in graduate school in Chicago and they married on March 25, 1933, at about the same time they received their degrees. The Browmans’ first son, Andrew was born in 1935, and their daughter Audra E. in 1937. That same year they moved to Missoula, Montana, where Ludvig Browman accepted a Zoology Department faculty position at the University of Montana.

While Audra Browman hoped for employment using her biochemistry training, state policy prohibited employment of both husband and wife by the same agency. She worked on research projects for a few years but she focused on being a housewife and mother after the births of Dave in 1941 and Cathe in 1945. Before long, her community involvement grew and in 1952, she was a founding member of the League of Women Voters of Missoula, Montana, and later, the first woman elected to the Missoula County High School Board of Trustees.

In the mid 1960s, inspired by a University of Montana librarian, Browman developed an interest in local history. After that, she combined her community activities with extensive research projects focused on Missoula and northwestern Montana. By the time of her death on June 12, 2002, Browman’s research collection was well known and enjoyed extensive community use.