Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson,, was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, "Timbuktu". He published his first solo collection of poems, Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, in 1830. "Claribel" and "Mariana", which remain some of Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were included in this volume. Although described by some critics as overly sentimental, his verse soon proved popular and brought Tennyson to the attention of well-known writers of the day, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Tennyson's early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery, was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

6 August 1809

Born on the same birth day (6 August): A. G. Kripal Singh • Allan Holdsworth • Billy Boston • Catherine Hicks • Daniel O'Connell • Francesco Bellotti • Louella Parsons • Louise Sorel • Norman Wexler • Raphael Pyrasch • Rebecca Peterson

Born in the same month (August 1809): Hannibal Hamlin • John Kirk Townsend • Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. • William B. Travis