George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) came from an aristocratic family but was raised in poverty. When his great-uncle died, he became the sixth Lord Byron. Born with a clubfoot, he nonetheless became a capable athlete. At Cambridge his extravagance led to indebtedness, but he formed close friendships there and began to write lyric verse. After completing his studies, Byron toured the Mediterranean, gathering ideas and experiences for his most important poems, such as Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan. His romantic image, his good looks, his title, and his deeply emotional, sometimes sensational work combined to make him the most popular author of his day. Despite financial difficulties, he took no income from his publications because of his aristocratic status. He occupied his family's seat in the House of Lords and spoke as a liberal in support of laborers and Catholic Emancipation.

Lord Byron found himself entangled in a number of difficult romantic situations throughout his life. Like Percy Shelley, Byron was forced to leave England because of his eccentric behavior. He lived first in Switzerland and then in Italy, where he became involved in political intrigues. In his thirties, Byron settled into a relationship with an Italian countess and lived near Shelley in Pisa. He continued working on Childe Harold and completed Don Juan, a book-length, best-selling poem that scandalized Europe.

In the 1820s, Byron's writings stirred popular support for Greek independence from the Turks. Byron left his literary work and organized an expedition to aid in the Greek war. However, he was not a gifted soldier. He succumbed to a fever and died just before turning thirty-six. When news of his death reached England, a fifteen-year-old boy went into the forest and wrote on a rock, "Byron is dead." The boy would grow to become another of England's greatest poets, Alfred Tennyson, who later said "On that day, the whole world seemed to be darkened for me." The Greek people today still honor Byron as a national hero.