Baron Byron Baron, killed his cousin and neighbour William Chaworth in a duel on 26 January 1765. He was brought before his peers in the House of Lords but under the statute of Edward VI he was found guilty only of manslaughter and forced to pay a small fine. Byron henceforth became known as "the Wicked Lord" and "the Devil Byron". He was succeeded by his great-nephew, George Gordon Byron, the sixth Baron, the famous Romantic poet. He was the son of John "Mad Jack" Byron, son of Vice-Admiral the Hon. John "Foulweather Jack" Byron, second son of the fourth Baron and
William Byron, 5th Baron Byron including that he: These stories contributed to his being nicknamed "the Wicked Lord", a title he very much enjoyed. The stories have been propagated particularly by biographers of Byron's great nephew, the poet. Elizabeth left him in this period after the duel. Upon her departure, Byron took one of the servants as his mistress. The woman's name was Hardstaff, but she was known primarily as "Lady Betty". Byron schemed to resolve his serious financial difficulties through a judicious marriage of William, his son and heir, into a wealthy family. But just before the marriage William eloped with his cousin Juliana