Literature · Royalty · Politics · 1788–1824
Born: 22 January 1788 · Died: 19 April 1824 · Age: 36
English Romantic poet of Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, famous for his scandalous life and death in the Greek war of independence
Did you know?Forbidden from keeping a dog at Cambridge University, he kept a tame bear in his rooms instead.
Byron was the first modern celebrity poet, and his fame was so intense that he became a type of hero in his own right, the 'Byronic hero', brooding, rebellious and magnetic. His long poem Don Juan mixes romance, satire and humour in a way that still feels lively. His scandalous private life forced him to leave England for good in 1816. He spent his final years supporting the Greek fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire and died of fever in Greece at 36. He is still celebrated in Greece as a national hero.
George Noel Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), was a British poet. He was one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest British poets.
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“She walks in beauty, like the night.”
Profile
English poet, born 1788
Lord Byron was born in London on 22 January 1788.
He became famous with Childe Harold's Pilgrimage in 1812.
He wrote the epic satire Don Juan.
He died in Greece in 1824.
Career highlights
Did you know?He kept a tame bear at Cambridge University.
Questions people ask
1561–1626Photo: Paul van Somer I / Formerly attributed to Frans Pourbus the Younger · Public domain
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