Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), poet, was born at Somersby in Lincolnshire and attended Louth Grammar School, before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge.
He was appointed Poet Laureate to succeed William Wordsworth. As Poet Laureate he produced his best known work 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'. Other works include 'The Lady of Shalott' and 'Morte d'Arthur'.
His early works were dismissed as sentimental tosh. The criticism was harsh, and Tennyson took the criticism badly, and did not publish again for ten years.
'The Lady of Shalott' was published as part of a collection simply entitled Poems (1833).
His Arthurian tales were collected together in Idylls of the King (1885). Idylls of the King was typical of much of his work, in that it had a mythological or classical theme.
Later in his career, Tennyson turned his hand to churning out plays, but these turned out to be a flop.
Tennyson was the first poet to be elevated to the peerage. He lies buried in Westminster Abbey.
A statue of Tennyson can be found outside Lincoln Cathedral.
The Tennyson Research Centre is located at Lincoln Central Library.
Lincoln celebrated the Tennyson Bicentenary in 2009 with a world premier of 'The Lady of Shalott', with showings at The Collection.
The Water Rail Way, a cycle route (part of the National Cycle Network), which runs from Lincoln to Boston along the River Witham following the disused Lincoln to Boston railway line has public works of art along the route by Anwick Forge, Griffin Memorials and Nigel Sardeson commissioned to create a sculpture trail inspired by the poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson and to commemorate the 200th anniversary of this former Poet Laureate who was born in Lincolnshire.
To celebrate the Tennyson Bicentenary, the Classic Serial on BBC Radio 4 dramatised 'Maud', a dark tale of suicide, death and ruin. [first broadcast Sunday 26 July 2009, repeated Saturday 1 August 2009]