Note 132 — BOOK VI[60]

Hon. John Byron (1723-1786), second son of William fourth Lord Byron and grand-father of the poet, entered the Navy as a boy. In 1764, he was promoted to commodore and commanded two vessels in a voyage of exploration round the world; he returned in 1766, having accomplished little beyond some curious observations on the Indians of Patagonia and the discovery of some small islands in the Pacific Ocean. He was Governor of Newfoundland from 1769 to 1772; became a vice-admiral in 1778; and on the 6th of July 1779 fought an engagement with the French fleet off Grenada, in the West Indies, the result of which was doubtful.—T.