Byron, George Gordon Byron, baron, 1788-1824

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British poet.

From the description of George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron papers, 1812-1819. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79452083

English Romantic poet and satirist.

From the description of George Gordon Byron Collection, 1642-1968 (bulk 1798-1830). (Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (HRC); University of Texas at Austin). WorldCat record id: 145405980

Major George Gordon de Luna Byron, alias de Gibler, Spanish-born forger of British Romantic literary manuscripts. He claimed to be -- but was unable to prove that he was -- the illegitimate son of Lord Byron.

From the guide to the Major Byron manuscript material : 7 items, ca. mid-to-late 19th century, (The New York Public Library. Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle.)

Lord Byron, English Romantic poet known equally for his scandalous lifestyle as for his poetical genius. One of the most popular living poets of his day, his celebrity was ignighted by such works as Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan, and fueled by the rumors of his many affairs.

From the description of Lord Byron manuscript material : 173 items, 1807-1824 (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 182664384

Lord Byron was an English poet.

From the description of Letters and a portrait, 1819. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 82364345

Familiarly known as Lord Byron, George Gordon Byron was an English poet, essayist, and dramatist.

From the description of Baron Byron, George Gordon Byron collection of papers, 1805-1969 bulk (1805-1922). (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122517277

From the guide to the Baron Byron, George Gordon Byron collection of papers, 1805-1969, 1805-1922, (The New York Public Library. Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.)

Ada King, countess of Lovelace, née Augusta Ada Byron, English mathematician and computer pioneer. She was the only legitimate child of George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron, the poet.

From the guide to the Ada King, Countess of Lovelace manuscript material : 16 items, 1840-1851, (The New York Public Library. Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle.)

English poet.

From the description of Letter, 1823 June 6, to C.F. Barry. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 86130308

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Ravenna, to P.B. Shelley, 1821 Sept. 8. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270133642

From the description of Documents relating to his marriage, 1814-1852. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122690152

From the description of LS, [s.d.]. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122626241

From the description of Autograph letter signed : [London], to W.J. Baldwin, 1813 Nov. 14. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270131592

From the description of Autograph letter signed : [n.p.], to Samuel Rogers, [n.d.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270133521

From the description of Collection of letters written by members of his family and his friends. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270134641

From the description of Prometheus : AMs and unique printing, [ca. 1816]. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122525048

George Gordon Byron (1788-1824), 6th Baron of that name, better known simply as Lord Byron, was a noted English poet and leading figure in the Romantic movement. Among his best-known works are the poems "She walks in beauty" and "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage."

From the guide to the George Gordon, Lord Byron Collection, 1812-1948, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)

George Gordon, Lord Byron, was a second generation British Romantic poet, born in 1788. He began writing poetry while at Trinity College, Cambridge. He spent the summer of 1816 at the Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva, in the company of Mary Godwin, Percy Shelley and Clare Claremont. It was this summer that the story The Vampire, discussed at the beginning of this letter, is generally supposed to have been written. In 1823, his health in decline, Byron sailed for Greece to fight in their war for independence. While there, he contracted an illness and died in Missolonghi on April 19, 1824.

From the description of George Gordon, Lord Byron letter, 1819, April 27. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 212433275

Poet.

From the description of Papers 1816-1858. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 703897533

From the description of George Gordon, Lord Byron letters and miscellaneous papers, [ca.1807-1824] (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155474579

From the description of Papers, 1786-1847. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 41546370

John Cam Hobhouse, afterwards Lord Broughton, accompanied Byron on one of his foreign trips, and was entrusted to bring Byron's manuscripts back to London. He was subsequently one of Byron's executors.

From the description of Lord Byron "Childe Harold" proofs and letter, circa 1834-1837. (Cornell University Library). WorldCat record id: 299028872

George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron, English Romantic poet known equally for his scandalous life as for his poetical genius. One of the most popular living poets of his day, his celebrity began with Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and rose to its apogee with Don Juan.

From the guide to the Lord Byron manuscript material : 184 items, 1807-1824, (The New York Public Library. Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle.)

George Gordon, Lord Byron, continues to be one of the most highly regarded poets in the English language. Through humble beginnings, a club foot, his windfall inheritance, sudden popularity, and countless affairs, Byron's short life was filled with sublimely written poetry, Romantic in the truest sense of the word and surprisingly plainspoken. Joining the Greek war for Independence from Turkey, Byron died of fever in Missolonghi at the age of thirty-six.

From the description of George Gordon, Lord Byron, letter and memorabilia, 1823. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 50616671

George Gordon Byron was born in London on January 22, 1788, the son of John Mad Jack Byron and Catherine Gordon. His father, having spent his wife’s inheritance, eventually left for France, where he died when Byron was three. Byron and his mother lived in Aberdeen until he became the sixth Baron Byron of Rochdale upon the death of his great uncle, William John Byron, in 1798. At that point, mother and son returned to England and lived briefly at the ancestral estate, Newstead Abbey. John Hanson, the family’s solicitor, brought Byron to London for professional treatment of his clubbed foot and enrolled him in school in Dulwich. Byron attended Harrow from 1801 to 1805, then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he received his degree in 1808.

Byron had his first book of poetry, Fugitive Pieces, privately printed by John Ridge in 1806. Because friends, particularly Reverend Thomas Becher, criticized the work’s eroticism, he suppressed its publication and revised it as Poems on Various Occasions (1807). The work continued to be revised and was published publicly first as Hours of Idleness, A Series of Poems, Original and Translated (1808), with a second edition, revised, appearing in 1808. An unfavorable review of Hours of Idleness spurred Byron to write his first major poetic work, English Bards, and Scotch Reviewers (1809), a satirical jab at critics and poets of the day that also expressed his admiration of neoclassical poets such as John Dryden and Alexander Pope.

Byron toured the eastern Mediterranean from 1809 to 1811, writing Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812) along the way. The 500 copies of the first edition of Childe Harold, published by John Murray, sold out in three days, and Byron found himself famous overnight. The most popular poet of his day, Byron is still considered the embodiment of English Romanticism. Over the next few years he published six Romantic verse narratives: The Giaour (1813), The Bride of Abydos (1813), The Corsair (1814), Lara (1814), and The Siege of Corinth and Parasina (1816). All of these were well received. Murray continued as Byron’s publisher until 1823.

Byron’s intriguing private life contributed to his popularity. He had affairs with numerous women and a few men; the most scandalous was with Lady Caroline Lamb. He also may have had a physical relationship with his half sister, Augusta Leigh, to whom he was especially close. In 1815, Byron married Anne Isabella (Annabella) Milbanke. When Annabella’s uncle, Lord Wentworth, died later that year, the Milbankes changed their name to Noel as his will directed. Byron also added the name Noel, becoming George Gordon Noel Byron. Byron’s severe financial difficulties caused him to drink heavily and become hostile to family members, particularly his wife. In 1816, Annabella left him, taking their infant daughter, Augusta Ada Byron, to her parents’ home. Charges of cruelty and adultery were augmented by rumors of an incestuous relationship with Augusta Leigh, and Byron agreed to a legal separation. He left England for Switzerland, where he was met by fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, his wife Mary Godwin, and Godwin’s stepsister Claire (Jane) Clairmont, who was pregnant with Byron’s child (Clara Allegra, who died at age five). Byron and Shelley developed a close friendship, and Byron wrote several poems during this time, including The Prisoner of Chillon and Prometheus. These were followed by Manfred (1817), a Faustian tragedy.

After spending four months in Switzerland, Byron traveled to Italy, where he spent the next seven years. Experimenting with a new style (verse in ottava rima), he wrote Beppo (1818), which was a more lighthearted work than his previous writings. This style was repeated in his acclaimed Don Juan, an epic satire left unfinished at the time of his death. He also wrote several dramas, including Sardanapalus, The Two Foscari, and Cain, A Mystery (1821), which reflected his growing interest in political issues.

In Italy, Byron initially led a life of debauchery, but in 1819 he formed a lasting attachment with the Countess Teresa Guiccioli. In July 1823, Byron sailed for Greece to assist with the war of independence from the Turks. He caught a fever, was bled with leeches, and died on April 19, 1824.

From the guide to the George Gordon Byron Collection TXRC07-A0., 1642-1968 (bulk 1798-1830), (The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center)

Epithet: poet

Title: 6th Baron Byron

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000349.0x0003a2

George Gordon Noel Byron was born in London on 22 January 1788. At the age of ten, he inherited his great uncle William's barony to become the 6th Baron of Rochdale. Byron was educated at Harrow School 1801-1805 and Trinity College Cambridge, 1805-1808; where he received a Master of Arts degree. Whilst at Cambridge, Byron had several poetry books and other works printed and published. On leaving Cambridge, he settled in Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, the ancestral home of the Byrons. He took his seat in the House of Lords on the 13 March 1809 and later that year he began a tour of the Mediterranean and the Near East (1809-1811).

In 1812 Byron published Childe Harold's Pilgrimage Canto I and II and made his maiden speech at the House of Lords. In April 1816 he left England for the continent and spent nearly seven years travelling and writing in Italy. While in Italy he wrote Don Juan , which was published in several parts between 1818-1822. Byron sailed for Greece in July 1823, to help that country in its war for independence. In April 1824 Byron fell ill and died in Missolonghi, Greece.

From the guide to the Byron, George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale (1788-1824), 1816-1875, (Senate House Library, University of London)

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Person

Birth 1788-01-22

Death 1824-04-19

Britons

Italian,

English,

French

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