Byron's Narrative of the Loss of the Wager

Vice-Admiral John Byron (1723 –1786) was the second son of the fourth Baron Byron. As a young midshipman in the British Royal Navy, he sailed in Anson’s expedition of 1740, and was serving aboard HMS Wager when it was wrecked on the southern coast of Chile. After more than five years, Byron returned to England with the Wager’s captain, and continued his naval career. He circumnavigated the globe as a commodore with his own squadron in 1764–1766 and fought in both the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolutionary War. He became one of the most revered figures in Royal Naval history. His grandson was the poet George Gordon Byron, who referenced his grandfather’s adventures in his poetry.