Biography of Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson was a Victorian poet and Poet Laureate.
When and Where was he Born?
6th August 1809, Somersby Rectory, Lincolnshire, England.
Family Background:
Alfred Lord Tennyson was the fourth of twelve children of George, the Rector of Somersby and Elizabeth who were a talented but unhappy couple.
Education:
Louth Grammar School, where he hated the sadistic Headmaster, the Reverend J. Waite. Trinity College, Cambridge University.
Timeline of Alfred Lord Tennyson:
1823: Poems by Alfred and his brother Charles were published by Jacksons in Louth, Lincolnshire.
1829: He wins the Chancellor’s Gold Medal at Trinity College, Cambridge with “Timbuctoo”. He becomes a member of “The Apostles” group. Spends Christmas at Somersby with his college friend Arthur Hallam.
1832: Alfred Tennyson visits the Rhineland in Germany with Hallam.
1833: His work “Poems” is slammed by the critics in “The Quarterly Review” for being “too sentimental”. Arthur Hallam dies in Vienna in September.
1835: Death of his grandfather George.
1836: He falls in love with Emily Sellwood at his brother’s wedding.
1837: His parents and the rest of the family leave Somersby and move to Beech Hill House, at High Beech, Near Epping in Essex.
1840: The family moves to Tunbridge Wells.
1841: The family moves to Boxley, near Maidstone in Kent.
1842: His sisters Emily and Cecilia marry.
1843: Collapse of the woodcarving business in which Tennyson had invested most of his inheritance. He moves to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.
1845: He is granted a pension from the Civil List by the Government.
1848: He visited Malvern in Worcestershire.
1850: Publication of “In Memoriam” which had been inspired by the untimely death of his friend Hallam. He becomes Poet Laureate, succeeding William Wordsworth. He marries Emily Sarah Sellwood.
1851: The Tennysons move to Chapel House, Twickenham in March.
1852: Birth of son Hallam Tennyson in August.
1853: The Tennyson’s move to Farringford in the Isle of Wight during November.
1854: Birth of Son Lionel.
1855: Publication of “Maud and Other Poems”.
1858: Tennyson visits Norway alone.
1859: He visits Portugal.
1860: Julia Cameron goes to live at Farringford.
1861: Alfred Lord Tennyson visits the Pyrenees with his family.
1862: Received by Queen Victoria at Osborne House in the Isle of Wight.
1865: Death of Tennyson’s mother.
1868: He begins to build a summer residence at Aldworth in Sussex in April.
1875: Publication of “Queen Mary”.
1884: Tennyson takes his seat in the House of Lords as the First Baron Tennyson. His play “Becket” is published.
1885: “Tiresias and Other Poems” is published.
1886: Death of Lionel.
1892: Dies.
(1893): First performance of Tennyson’s play “Becket”.
When and Where Did he Die?
6th October 1892, Aldworth, Surrey, England from complications due to influenza.
Age at Death:
83.
Written Works:
1827: ” Poems by Two Brothers” (Alfred and Charles).
1829: “Timbuctoo”
1830: “Poems Chiefly Lyrical”.
1832: “The Lady of Shallot”. “The Lotus Eaters”.
1842: “Poems”.
1847: “The Princess”.
1850: “In Memoriam”
1852: “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington”.
1854: “The Charge of the Light Brigade”.
1855: “Maud and Other Poems”.
1859: “The Idylls of the King”.
1864: “Idylls of the Hearth”.
1865: “A Selection from the Works”.
1869: “The Holy Grail and Other Poems”.
1872: “Gareth and Lynette”.
1876: Queen Mary”.
1875: “The Lover’s Tale”.
1879: “The Falcon”.
1880: “Ballads and Other Poems”.
1881: “The Cup”.
1885: “Tiresias and Other Poems”
1892: “The Foresters”. “The Death of Oenone”. “Akbar’s Dream”.
1893: “Becket”.
Marriage:
1850 to Emily Sarah Sellwood.
Site of Grave:
Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey, Westminster , London, England.

Places of Interest:
CORNWALL:
Tintagel was inspiration for the “Idylls of the King”.
CUMBRIA:
Honeymooned at Tent Lodge, Coniston.
LINCOLNSHIRE:
Some personal effects at the Usher Gallery, Lincoln.
SOMERSET:
Honeymooned at Clevedon House.
SUFFOLK:
Visited Edward Fitzgerald at Dunwich.
ISLE OF WIGHT:
Tennyson Down Cliff Walk, Farringford.
Lived at Farrington House, Freshwater.
Summer House at Maiden’s Croft Meadows, Freshwater.
Tennyson Display Room in Carrisbrooke Castle, Newport.