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His childhood
George Gordon Noel Byron (later Noel), sixth Baron Byron, was born on 22 January 1788 in London. His father died when he was three, with the result that he inherited his title from his great uncle in 1798. -
George Gordon Noel Byron
George Gordon Noel Byron (later Noel), sixth Baron Byron, was born on 22 January 1788 in London. His father died when he was three, with the result that he inherited his title from his great uncle in 1798. -
His Childhood and Education
In 1798 at the age of ten, Byron unexpectedly inherited his great uncle William, the fifth Baron Byron’s title. The inheritance helped him come back to England with his mother and stay at the Newstead Abbey that had been presented to the Byrons by King Henry VIII.
He went to London and studied at Dulwich in 1799 and then at Harrow in 1801 which was the most prestigious school in all England. He attended the Trinity College, Cambridge University, from 1805 to 1808. -
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Personal Life
In 1803, Lord Byron fell in love with Mary Chaworth but she rejected him as she was already engaged.
While at Cambridge, he became involved in various vices which were common among undergraduates and piled up a huge debt. He also got into an affair with a young chorister named, John Edleston.
In 1813, he got romantically involved with his half-sister from his father’s first marriage, Augusta Leigh, who he had met in Newstead in 1803. She was already married to Colonel George Leigh. -
Early Years
Byron spent his early years in Aberdeen, and was educated at Harrow School and Cambridge University. In 1809, he left for a two-year tour of a number of Mediterranean countries. He returned to England in 1811, and in 1812 the first two cantos of ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ were published. Byron became famous overnight. -
Education and Early Life
Byron spent his early years in Aberdeen, and was educated at Harrow School and Cambridge University. In 1809, he left for a two-year tour of a number of Mediterranean countries. He returned to England in 1811, and in 1812 the first two cantos of ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ were published. Byron became famous overnight. -
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Personal Life (Part 2)
Frustrated and depressed, he married Anne Isabella Milbanke in January 1815, but the marriage was unhappy. They were legally separated in January 1816. He had a daughter with her named Augusta Ada who was born in December 1815.
After leaving England in 1816 and settling in Geneva he renewed his love-affair with Claire Clairmont.
In 1817, Claire Clairmont moved to England to give birth to Byron’s illegitimate daughter Allegra in January 1817. -
Major Works
Lord Byron’s ‘The Corsair’ published in 1814 was a great hit and sold over 10,000 copies on the very first day of its publication.
Another of his greatest works was ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ which he began to write in 1812 and completed in 1818.
His greatest poem was ‘Don Juan’, which was started in 1818 and the first two cantos published in 1819. He could complete only 16 cantos of the poem; he had started the 17th one, but was taken ill and died before he could complete it. -
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Personal Life (Part 3)
In Ravenna in 1818, he met Countess Teresa Gamba Guiccioli who was 19 years old and married to a man who was three times older than her. Though Byron had become fat and had long gray hair at that time, he convinced her to come back with him to Venice which she did.
His compositions influenced many writers in future. -
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Last Years and Death
In July 1823, Byron left Italy to join the Greek insurgents who were fighting a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. On 19 April 1824 he died from fever at Missolonghi, in modern day Greece. His death was mourned throughout Britain. His body was brought back to England and buried at his ancestral home in Nottinghamshire.
