Byron, John Byron, 1st Baron

▪ English Cavalier

born c. 1600

died Aug. 23, 1652, Paris, France

      English Cavalier and Royalist during the Civil Wars.

      He was the eldest son of Sir John Byron (d. 1625), a member of an old Lancashire family which had settled at Newstead, near Nottingham. During the third decade of the 17th century Byron was member of Parliament for the town and afterward for the county of Nottingham. In December 1641, King Charles I made him lieutenant of the Tower of London, but in consequence of the persistent demand of the House of Commons he resigned in 1642.

      Byron fought at the skirmish at Powick Bridge; he commanded his own regiment of horse at Edgehill and at Roundway Down. At the Battle of Marston Moor, as previously at the Battle of Edgehill, Byron's rashness gave a great advantage to the enemy; then, after fighting in Lancashire and north Wales, he returned to Chester, which he held for about 20 weeks in spite of the king's defeat at Naseby and the general hopelessness of the royal cause. Having obtained favourable terms, he surrendered the city in February 1646.

      Byron took some slight part in the second Civil War and was one of the seven persons excepted by Parliament from all pardon in 1648. But he had already left England, and he lived abroad in attendance on the royal family until his death. Although twice married, Byron left no children, and his title descended to his brother Richard (1605–79), who had been governor of Newark. Byron's five other brothers served Charles I during the Civil War, and one authority says that the seven Byrons were all present at the Battle of Edgehill.

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