George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) Lines Inscribed upon a Cup Formed from a Skull LINKS The Poetry Archives -- Lord George Gordon Byron 1788-1824 http://library.advanced.org/3247/cgi-bin/ dispover.cgi?frame=none&poet=byron.george This site contains a biographical time line of Lord Byron's life, the texts of many poems, and a list of related links. BIOGRAPHY George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) Born in London of an aristocratic family, Byron was educated at the best grammar schools and at Cambridge. He early became a public figure, as much for the notoriety of his personal life as for the popularity of his irreverent, satiric poetry. Among his scandalous affairs, the one he was rumored to have had with his half-sister forced him into European exile in 1816. His political life was equally flamboyant: he began his career in the House of Lords with a speech defending the working classes and he met his death in Greece as the result of a fever he contracted while fighting for Greek independence. Byron published a volume of poetry while at Cambridge, but fame and popularity came with later volumes of poems, notably Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818) and Don Juan (1819–1824). Despite Byron's acknowledged literary greatness and popularity, he was deemed morally unfit for burial in Westminster Abbey.