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Who was Arthur Henry Hallam?

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Lithograph portrait of Alfred, Lord Tennyson with wavy hair, a full beard, and a serious expression, shown in three-quarter view wearing a dark coat. — Alfred, Lord Tennyson Portrait of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, lithograph published in *The Modern Portrait Gallery*, 1890.

Arthur Henry Hallam (1811–1833) was an English essayist and poet who is primarily remembered as the closest friend of Alfred, Lord Tennyson.1

The son of historian Henry Hallam, he met Tennyson at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1828. The two became members of an exclusive intellectual club known as The Apostles, and Hallam became a staunch defender of Tennyson’s early literary work. Beyond their friendship, Hallam was the accepted suitor of Tennyson’s sister, Emily.12

Hallam’s sudden death in Vienna in 1833 profoundly affected Tennyson, triggering a period of deep mourning that inspired some of the poet's most significant works. Most notably, Hallam is the subject of Tennyson’s celebrated elegy, In Memoriam, which explores themes of grief, faith, and the struggle to reconcile religious belief with emerging scientific theories. Hallam’s own writings were collected and published posthumously by his father in 1834.213