Lord Byron dies at Missolonghi (1824)

Lord Byron died in Missolonghi on 19 April 1824, aged 36, from a fever contracted after the first and second sieges. He had arrived in January 1824 to support the Greek independence movement, forming a brigade paid for by himself. His death occurred amidst internal Greek factional tensions, including an attack by Georgios Karaiskakis in April 1824.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Byron accepted overtures from Greek independence representatives in 1823 while living in Genoa. He traveled to Greece, initially staying on Kefalonia where he was besieged by agents of rival factions. He reached Missolonghi on 5 January 1824, joining forces with politician Alexandros Mavrokordatos. The town had previously held out against Ottoman sieges in 1822 and 1823.

Illness and Death. Byron fell ill on 15 February 1824 before an expedition could sail, and bloodletting weakened him further. He died on 19 April 1824 from a fever contracted after the first and second sieges of Missolonghi. His death occurred in the town, which is commemorated by a cenotaph and statue.

Political Context. Byron formed a brigade of 30 philhellene officers and 231 men, paid for entirely by himself. He grew tired of blackmail from rival faction agents and sent them home on 15 February 1824. Internal tensions arose when Georgios Karaiskakis attacked Missolonghi on 3 April 1824, leading to brief inter-Greek fighting before he was chased away.

People involved

Sources

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.