Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Byron (1757 – 2 August 1791) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer and letter writer, best known as the father of the poet

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

. In 1824, an obituary of his son gave him the nickname "Mad Jack Byron", and though there is no evidence for this in his own lifetime, it has since stuck – certainly he was called "Jack" by his family members and referred to himself as such.

Early life

Byron was the sixth child and eldest son of Vice-Admiral Hon.

John Byron Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...

and Sophia Trevanion and grandson of William Byron, 4th

Baron Byron Baron Byron, of Rochdale in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1643 by letters patent for Sir John Byron, a Cavalier general and former Member of Parliament. The peerage was created with ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...

. The earliest record of him is his baptism record, dated 17 March 1757 in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

. After his family moved to London he was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

. He gained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

and was dispatched with his regiment to Philadelphia, where he managed to accrue considerable debts during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

Marriages

In 1778, Jack became embroiled in an affair with the married Amelia Osborne, Marchioness of Carmarthen, daughter of

Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, (17 May 1718 – 16 May 1778), known before 1721 as Lord Darcy and Conyers, was a British diplomat and politician. Career In 1741 he collaborated with G.F. Handel in the production of Deidamia. From 1 ...

. Shortly before Christmas they ran away to

Rottingdean Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards. Name The name Rotting ...

, where they were discovered in bed together by one of her husband's servants. Her husband, Francis Osborne, later 5th Duke of Leeds, filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery in 1779. Byron married Amelia in London on 9 June 1779 and they went on to have three children: Sophia Georgina Byron, an unnamed boy, and Augusta Maria Byron. Sophia and the unnamed boy died in infancy; Augusta Byron went on to marry George Leigh. Amelia died in London in 1784. Byron then married Catherine Gordon, heiress of Gight in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

, Scotland, daughter of George Gordon and Catherine Innes, on 17 May 1785. In order to claim his wife's estate in Scotland, Captain Byron took the surname ''Gordon''. They had one child, born on 22 January 1788:

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

. Having attempted to live with his wife in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

and squandered her fortune, Jack eventually left both his wife and son in Scotland and went to France to live with his sister, Frances Leigh. Having never managed to take control of his spending – which continued to go on parties, theatre trips and courtesans - Jack died in August 1791 at

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, while still in his mid-thirties. Though his son Lord Byron claimed many years later that his father had cut his own throat, there is no contemporary evidence to support this. The fact that Jack mentioned coughing up blood and losing weight, and that his sister Sophy described his "long and suffering illness" supports the idea that he died from a consumptive illness such as

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

. Had he survived, Jack would have been next in line to inherit his uncle's title as Lord Byron. Instead, it fell to his ten-year-old son George in 1798..

Bibliography

* Michael Bakewell and Melissa Bakewell, ''Augusta Leigh: Byron's Half-Sister'' (2000) * Emily Brand, ''The Fall of the House of Byron'' (John Murray, 2020) * Violet Walker, ''The House of Byron'' (Quiller Press, 1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byron, John 1756 births 1791 deaths British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War 18th-century English people

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Coldstream Guards officers People educated at Westminster School, London 18th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in France