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 remainder to the heirs male of his body, failing, to his six brothers: Richard, William, Thomas, Robert, Gilbert, and Philip, and the heirs male of their bodies. Lord Byron died childless and was succeeded according to the special remainder by his next eldest brother Richard, the second Baron.[1][2]

Barony of Byron

Argent, three bendlets enhanced gules
Creation date24 October 1643[1]
Created byCharles I
PeeragePeerage of England
First holderSir John Byron
Present holderRobert Byron, 13th Baron Byron
Heir apparentCharles Byron
Remainder toHeirs male of the first Baron Byron and his brothers, lawfully begotten
Former seat(s)Newstead Abbey
MottoCrede Byron ("Trust Byron")[1]

The latter's great-grandson, the fifth Baron, killed his cousin and neighbour William Chaworth in a duel on 26 January 1765. He was brought before his peers in the House of Lords but under the statute of Edward VI he was found guilty only of manslaughter and forced to pay a small fine. Byron henceforth became known as "the Wicked Lord" and "the Devil Byron".

He was succeeded by his great-nephew, George Gordon Byron, the sixth Baron, the famous Romantic poet. He was the son of John "Mad Jack" Byron, son of Vice-Admiral John "Foulweather Jack" Byron, second son of the fourth Baron and the younger brother of the fifth Baron. Lord Byron died without male issue and was succeeded by his first cousin, the seventh Baron, who was an admiral in the Royal Navy.[1]

On the death of his great-grandson, the eleventh Baron (who had succeeded his first cousin once-removed in 1949), this line of the family expired. The late Baron was succeeded by his distant relative (his fifth cousin), the twelfth Baron. He was the great-great-great-grandson of Reverend Richard Byron, third son of the fourth Baron. As of 2009, the title is held by his second son, the thirteenth Baron, who succeeded in 1989.[1]

From the 16th century until 1818, the family residence of the Lords Byron was Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire. Most of the Byrons—including the sixth baron's daughter, the famed mathematician Ada Lovelace—are buried in the family vault in the nearby Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Hucknall.[3]

Barons Byron (1643)

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The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Charles Richard Gordon Byron (b. 1990).[1]

Family tree

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Sir John Byron (died 1623)
John Byron, 1st Baron Byron
1599–1652
Richard Byron, 2nd Baron Byron
1606–1679
William Byron, 3rd Baron Byron
1636–1695
William Byron, 4th Baron Byron
1669–1736
William Byron, 5th Baron Byron
1722–1798
Vice Admiral
John Byron
1723–1786
The Reverend
Richard Byron
1724–1811
John "Mad Jack" Byron
1756–1791
George Anson Byron
1758–1793
Rear admiral Richard Byron
1769–1837
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
1788–1824
Admiral
George Anson Byron, 7th Baron Byron
1789–1868
The Reverend
John Byron
1804–1878
George Anson Byron, 8th Baron Byron
1818–1870
Frederick Byron
1822–1861
The Reverend
William Byron
1831–1907
Major-general
John Byron
1832–1895
George Frederick William Byron, 9th Baron Byron
1855–1917
The Reverend
Frederick Ernest Charles Byron, 10th Baron Byron
1861–1949
Wilfrid Byron
1871–1936
Colonel
Richard Byron
1870–1939
Rupert Frederick George Byron, 11th Baron Byron
1903–1983
Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Geoffrey Gordon Byron, 12th Baron Byron
1899–1989
Robert James Byron, 13th Baron Byron
b.1950
Charles Richard Gordon Byron
born 1990
Heir Apparent

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 629–632. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  2. ^ G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 457.
  3. ^ Muldoon, Paul (2010). Lord Byron. Faber & Faber. p. 4. ISBN 9780571263769. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
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