Clough, Arthur Hugh (1819-1861)

Clough, Arthur Hugh

POET, EDUCATIONALIST (ENGLAND)

BORN 1 Jan 1819, Liverpool, Merseyside - DIED 13 Nov 1861, Firenze, Toscana
GRAVE LOCATION Firenze, Toscana: Cimitero Degli Inglesi, Piazzale Donatello, 38 (Sec. XIX, post 1861/11)

Arthur Clough was the son of the cotton merchabt James Butler Clough. In 1822 he moved to the USA with his family and he lived in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1828 he was sent to a school in Chester in England together with his older brother Charles. His parents returned in 1836 and in 1837 he entered Balliol College, Oxford. In Oxford he became close friends with Matthew Arnold, who was four years younger.

He became a tutor at Oriel College, but he objected against the doctrines of the Church of England and resigned his position in 1848. He travelled to Paris where he was a witness to the revolution. In Paris he often met Ralph Waldo Emerson. In 1848 he wrote his poem "The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich". In 1849 he was present during the siege of the Roman republic, which inspired his poem "Amours de Voyage". In 1849 he accepted to position of principal of University Hall, a hostel connected to the University of London. He didn't like London but he befriended Thomas Carlisle and his wife Jane.

In 1852 he went to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he worked for several months. He returned to London after he was offered an examinership in the Education Office. He married Miss Shore Smith and they had three children, Apart from his job he worked as unpaid secretary to Florence Nightingale. who was a cousin of his wife. When his health failed in 1860 he travelled to Great Malvern and the Isle of Wight and then to Greece, Turkey and France. Together with his wife he travelled from Switserland to Italy. There he contracted malaria and he died in Florence in 1861.

He was buried at the protestant cemetery in Florence. His tomb was designed by Susan Horner based on Champollion's book on Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Images

The grave of Arthur Hugh Clough at the Cimitero Degli Inglesi, Firenze.
Picture by Androom (03 Feb 2011)