Lord Byron

George Gordon Byron (1788 – 1824) inherited his title in 1798, along with his ancestral home of Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire. A flamboyant and controversial figure, celebrated for his excesses, he became well-known with the publication of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812. He travelled widely, and lived for some time in Italy where he wrote some of his most famous works, including Don Juan (1819-1824). He died in Greece in 1824, supporting the Greek War of Independence.