Born on 8th November 1723, the second son of William 4th Lord Byron and Hon. Frances Berkeley, John Byron was educated at Westminster school and joined the Navy in September 1731. He sailed as midshipman aboard the store ship HMS Wager in 1740 – a part of Commodore George Anson’s fleet, sailing to the Pacific Ocean. In May 1741, the Wager was separated from Anson’s squadron during a violent storm while rounding Cape Horn.
HMS Wager 1741
The Wager struck rocks and was wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Chile (now known as Wager Island). Byron initially joined the faction of the crew which mutinied against the unpopular Captain David Cheap - but quickly returned to remain loyal to the ship’s captain - enduring years of intense suffering including famine, freezing weather and disease.
The small group of survivors eventually reached the Spanish settlements on the mainland – only to be taken prisoners of war. They were released after two years and returned to England – arriving in early 1746, some five years after their departure. Out of the original crew of some 250-300 men, only a small handful made it back to England. Byron Island in the region of southern Chile off the coast of Patagonia, situated next to Wager Island is named in his honour.
‘Foul-weather Jack’ Byron as a young man c.1748 by Joshua Reynolds (Newstead Abbey)
His repeated encounters with severe weather conditions, difficult circumstances and bad luck at sea throughout his career earned him the title ‘Foul-weather Jack’. Despite this, his naval career flourished, leading to circumnavigation of the globe, several wartime commands, governorship of Newfoundland and promotion to Vice-Admiral.
HMS Dolphin 1757 (Wikimedia Commons)
A 24-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, the Dolphin was the first ship to circumnavigate the world twice. During his circumnavigation of the globe (June 1764 – May 1766), the forty-one year old Commodore John Byron took possession of the Falkland Islands. He and his ships passed through the Gilbert Islands (then largely unmapped by Europeans) on their way to Tinian in the Marianas. Byron’s expedition was the first documented encounter with the indigenous population of Nikunau. The name Byron’s Island was used on European maps for many years following his 1765 visit.
In May 1770, Captain James Cooke sailed past the easternmost point of the Australian mainland and named the headland ‘Cape Byron’ in honour of John Byron’s notable achievements and successful circumnavigation of the globe. The bay that the Cape shelters, later became known as Byron Bay.
Captain the Honourable John Byron by Joshua Reynolds (Newstead Abbey)
John Byron married his cousin Sophia Trevanion in 1748. The daughter of John Trevanion of Caerhays Castle in Cornwall, she was noted for her education and ‘celebrated beauty’. The couple had two sons and seven daughters. While George Anson Byron followed his father into the Navy, Captain John ‘Mad Jack’ Byron joined the British Army.
Hon. John Byron died on 1st April 1786, having suffered from declining health for the final decade of his life. While Hon. John Byron is primarily famous for his disastrous, storm-plagued voyages, he was also described as a ‘reckless’ or ‘irresponsible rake’ known for his ‘notorious amours’ and as part of a ‘wild family’.
It was in the genes!
Richard Hiscocks has provided us with detailed information regarding the naval career of Hon. John Byron (1723-1786) in a BB. For information regarding Byron’s family connections with the Royal Navy, please go to morethannelson.com. Dedicated to the “Golden Age” of naval history (1776-1815) it contains approximately 700 officers – including Rear-Admiral Richard Byron (1769-1837) Captain George Anson Byron (1758-1793) and Admiral George Anson Byron, 7th Baron Byron (1789-1868).
