Writers:
* Robert Browning: A fellow Victorian poet, known for his dramatic monologues and complex works. They were friends and sometimes rivals.
* Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Robert Browning's wife and also a well-regarded poet known for her passionate and feminist works.
* Charles Dickens: A prolific novelist, whose realistic depictions of Victorian society were hugely popular.
* William Makepeace Thackeray: Another significant novelist, known for his satirical and insightful works.
* Charlotte Brontë: A novelist known for her passionate and feminist works, such as "Jane Eyre."
* Emily Brontë: Sister of Charlotte, known for her haunting and powerful novel "Wuthering Heights."
* George Eliot: A novelist, using a pseudonym, known for her psychological depth and social commentary.
* Matthew Arnold: A poet and critic known for his intellectual and reflective works.
* Dante Gabriel Rossetti: A poet, painter, and leader of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, known for his romantic and aesthetically rich works.
* Christina Rossetti: Dante Gabriel's sister, known for her religious poetry and focus on domestic themes.
* Algernon Charles Swinburne: A poet known for his sensual, lyrical works and his political radicalism.
Other Notable Figures:
* Queen Victoria: The monarch of Britain during Tennyson's lifetime, whose reign shaped Victorian society.
* Charles Darwin: A scientist whose theory of evolution profoundly changed the understanding of the natural world.
* Abraham Lincoln: The President of the United States during the American Civil War.
* Louis Pasteur: A scientist who made crucial contributions to medicine, including the development of vaccines.
* Napoleon III: The Emperor of France during a significant period of European history.
* Florence Nightingale: A pioneering nurse who transformed the practice of nursing.
This is just a small sample of the people who lived during Tennyson's time. His life spanned several decades, allowing him to witness great social, political, and scientific change, as well as a blossoming of literary creativity.