Byron was the second son of the 4th Baron Byron. He joined the navy at a young age, accompanying Baron Anson on his circumnavigation as a midshipman. Byron's ship, HMS Wager, was shipwrecked on the coast of Patagonia, and the survivors decided to split in two teams, one to make its way by boat to Rio de Janeiro, the other, John Byron's, to sail North and meet Spaniards. He wrote of his adventures in The Narrative of the Honourable John Byron, which sold well enough to appear in several editions. These experiences form the basis of the novelThe Unknown Shore by Patrick O'Brian, which closely follows Byron's own account.
In 1760 he was in command of a squadron sent to destroy the fortifications at Louisbourg. In July of that year he defeated the French flotilla sent to relieve New France at the Battle of Restigouche.
He was the father of John Mad Jack Byron, who in turn fathered the poet Lord Byron. He was also the grandfather of George Anson Byron, another admiral and explorer. He was the brother of Hon. George Byron, married to Frances, daughter of Elton Levett of Nottingham, a descendant of Ambrose Elton, Esq., High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1618.[1][2]
