George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron
George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron, best known as Lord Byron
(January 22, 1788-April 19, 1824).
The best-known Romantic poet in his own day, Byron was famously described
by Lady Caroline Lamb, a former lover who continued to stalk him for many
years, as "Mad, bad and dangerous to know". Some surmise that he had bipolar
disorder, which was the source of his tempestuous moods.
His father was an English aristocrat; his mother was a Scottish one. His
father left his mother before he was born. As a result his mother moved back
to northeast Scotland shortly after his birth in London and he was raised in
Aberdeen, Scotland in straitened circumstances.
Notable Poems:
* Childe Harold
* The Giaour
* The Corsair
* Don Juan
From 1801 to 1808, Byron had a Newfoundland named Boatswain. Boatswain is
buried at Newstead Abbey, where his monument is larger than Byron's. Byron
also had a bear, a fox, monkeys, a parrot, cats, an eagle, a crow, a falcon,
peacocks, guinea hens, an Egyptian crane, a badger, geese, and a heron.
Byron's reputation has diminished among academics considerably, however,
since the early 20th century, and especially in the light of modernist and
postmodernist critical studies of his work.
Lord Byron died on April 19, 1824 at Missolonghi, Greece. His body was
returned to England and buried in the Parish Church Cemetery in Hucknall,
Nottinghamshire.
Byron married Anne Isabella Milbanke ("Annabella") at Seaham Hall, County
Durham on 2 January 1815, but they separated after less than two years.
However, their marriage yielded a daughter, Ada Lovelace, who became notable
for her contributions to the early study of what is now known as computer
science, in particular she was the first programmer. She never knew her father.
Note: The image shown here of Lord Byron is a photo of a portrait by
Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun.
This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
|
