Who was Lord Byron?
George Gordon, Lord Byron was a romantic poet
famous for scandalising society and being as cult figure in his
day.
Date and Place of Birth:
Born as George Gordon on 22nd January 1788, London,
England.
Family Background:
Byron was the son of Captain John "Mad Jack"
Byron and his second wife, Catherine Gordon, a Scottish heiress.
Education:
Aberdeen Grammar School. Harrow School. Trinity
College, Cambridge.
Chronology/Biography of Lord Byron:
1788: Moves to Aberdeen
with mother.
1791: 2nd August
Death of his father.
1798: Becomes 6th
Baron Byron of Rochdale. Visits Newstead Abbey for the first time.
1808: Byron takes
possession of Newstead Abbey.
1809: 13th March.
Takes up his seat in the House of Lords. 2nd July. Leaves England
to travel in Europe, Greece and Turkey.
1811: Returns to
England. Death of his mother.
1812: Makes maiden
speech in the House of Lords. Becomes famous on the publication
of the first parts of “Childe Harold”. Has affairs with Lady Caroline
Lamb and Lady Oxford.
1813: Affair with
his half-sister Augusta Leigh. Becomes engaged to Annabella Milbanke.
1815: Birth of Byron's
Daughter Augusta Ada.
1816: Lady Byron
leaves to live with her parents. 21st April. Deed of Separation
signed. 25th April. Leaves England and lives in Switzerland (May-October).
Becomes friendly with Shelley.
Affair with Claire Clairmont who becomes pregnant. November. Settles
in Venice.
Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva
where Byron, Shelley and Mary
Shelley entertained each other
with horror stories and Frankenstein was "born
(© Anthony Blagg)
1817: 12th January,
Birth of Allegra, his daughter by Claire Clairmont.
1818: Takes charge
of Allegra.
1819: Byron has
an affair in Venice with Countess Teresa Guiccioli.
Bridge of Sighs in Venice
(© Anthony Blagg)
1820: Lives in Ravenna,
Italy. Countess Guiccioli is separated from her husband. Byron joins
an Italian revolutionary society called the Carbonari.
1821: Sends Allegra
to a convent in Bagnacavello. Moves to Pisa where Shelley
is now staying.
The Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa with leaning bell tower which
Byron would have climbed
(© Anthony Blagg)
1822: 20th April.
Allegra dies of typhoid fever. 8th July. Shelley
drowns in a boating accident. Moves to Genoa and becomes involved
with Leigh Hunt.
1823: June. Byron
plans to go to Greece to take part in their struggle for independence
from the Turks. 3rd August Arrives in Cephalonia.
1824: 5th January.
Arrives in Missolonghi. 15th February. Suffers from convulsions.
9th April. Contracts illness after riding in the rain.
Written Works:
- 1806: “Fugitive
Pieces”. (printed privately)
- 1807: “Hours
of Idleness”. “Poems on Various Occasions”
- 1809: “English
Bards and Scotch Reviewers”. “Imitations and Translations from
the Classics, with original poems”
- 1812:“Childe
Harold's Pilgrimage” (Cantos 1-2)
- 1813: “The Bride
of Abydos”
- 1814: “The Corsair”.
“Ode to Napoleon”. “Lara”
- 1815: “Collected
Works”. “Hebrew Melodies”
- 1816: "Monody
on the Death of Sherida."“Poems on his Domestic Circumstances”.
“The Prisoner of Chillon”. “The Siege of Corinth”
- 1817:
Childe Harold” (Cantos 3). “Beppo”. “The Lament of Tasso”.
“Manfred”
- 1818: Childe
Harold” (Canto 4).
- 1819:
Don Juan” (Part 1-2)
- 1820: "Marino".
"Faliero".
- 1821:
The Two Foscari”. “Cain”. “Sardanapolus”. “Foscari”. “Marino
Faliero”. “Don Juan” (Parts 3-5).
- 1822: “The Vision
of Judgement”
- 1823: “Werner”.
“The Age of Bronze”. “Don Juan” (Parts 6-14). “The Island”
- 1824:
Don Juan" (Parts 15-16)
- (1825):
“Correspondence”
Marriage:
Jan 2nd 1815 to Annabella Milbanke, at Seaham
Hall.
Date and Place of Death:
19th April 1824. Missolonghi, Greece of fever.
Remains brought back to England by Leicester Stanhope who had joined
him in Greece fighting for the cause.
Age at Death:
36.
Site of Grave:
St.
Mary Magdalen Church, Hucknall, Torkard, Nottinghamshire.
Places of Interest:
CUMBRIA:
Dove Cottage and Museum, Grasmere, LA22 9SH.
(Wordsworth Trust.)
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE:
Newstead Abbey, Newstead Abbey Park, NG15 8G
KENT:
Roamed the White Cliffs in 1816 before his departure
for Greece.
LONDON:
National Portrait Gallery.
WILTSHIRE:
Bowood House, Calne has his Albanian costume.
