Arthur Henry Hallam (
February 1, 1811 –
September 15, 1833) was an
English poet, best known as the subject of
In Memoriam A.H.H., a major work by his best friend,
Alfred Tennyson. Hallam has been described as the
jeune homme fatal of his generation.
Hallam was born in
London, son of a historian,
Henry Hallam. He attended school at
Eton, where he met future
British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. The two engaged in a youthful and intense mutual infatuation, though there is no evidence of any
homosexual activity. Their four year relationship ended in
1828 when Hallam left to travel in
Italy and Gladstone matriculated at
Oxford.
In October
1828, Hallam went up to
Trinity College, Cambridge, where he met Tennyson. Both joined a group known as the
Cambridge Apostles. Their shared interests led to a close friendship, and Arthur became engaged to Tennyson's sister,
Emilia Tennyson. While travelling abroad with his father, he died suddenly at
Vienna, of a brain hemorrhage.
Tennyson not only dedicated one of his greatest poems to Hallam, but also named his
elder son after his late friend.
Hallam is buried at St. Andrew's Church in
Clevedon, Somerset. 
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