Historic Figures
WITH THE NAME GORDON
Lord Byron was a leading English poet and a leader of the Romantic Movement, some of whose most famous narrative works were “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage†and “Don Juanâ€. He was also a social activist, calling upon Parliament to honor the claims of the Luddites, the revolutionary group who opposed the mechanization of labor. Almost as well known for his personal life as for his poetry, Byron was the subject of much gossip and rumor, from the scandal that he had an affair and fathered a daughter with his half-sister, to the numerous other illicit romantic liaisons he instigated in his short life, both with men and women, to his personal excesses and debts. Club-footed from birth, Byron was exceedingly self-conscious of his defect, while being very vain about his good looks and his height (5’11â€). It is said that he wore curlers in his hair at night, that he was a strict vegetarian who occasionally ate red meat and then purged. He was aware of his notoriety and seemed to revel in being the living epitome of the “Byronic heroâ€. His wife coined the term “Byromaniaâ€, referring to all the public attention that he got – as the precursor of today’s super celebrities. Lord Byron fathered at least two daughters, one by his short lived marriage to Annabella Milbanke Byron, another as the result of an affair, and possibly a third, the daughter his half-sister gave birth to. When his marriage ended, Byron spent the last eight years of his life abroad, where a somewhat more forgiving societal rule prevailed. In 1824, while preparing to join the Greek uprising against Ottoman rule, he contracted a fever, was subjected to bloodletting, and finally died in Greece, where he is revered as a national hero. It took somewhat longer for such status to attach to him in his homeland, but in 1969, a mere 145 years after his death, a memorial to George Gordon, Lord Byron, was finally placed in Westminster Abbey. Oh, those impulsive Brits!
Lord Byron was a leading English poet and a leader of the Romantic Movement, some of whose most famous narrative works were “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage†and “Don Juanâ€. He was also a social activist, calling upon Parliament to honor the claims of the Luddites, the revolutionary group who opposed the mechanization of labor. Almost as well known for his personal life as for his poetry, Byron was the subject of much gossip and rumor, from the scandal that he had an affair and fathered a daughter with his half-sister, to the numerous other illicit romantic liaisons he instigated in his short life, both with men and women, to his personal excesses and debts. Club-footed from birth, Byron was exceedingly self-conscious of his defect, while being very vain about his good looks and his height (5’11â€). It is said that he wore curlers in his hair at night, that he was a strict vegetarian who occasionally ate red meat and then purged. He was aware of his notoriety and seemed to revel in being the living epitome of the “Byronic heroâ€. His wife coined the term “Byromaniaâ€, referring to all the public attention that he got – as the precursor of today’s super celebrities. Lord Byron fathered at least two daughters, one by his short lived marriage to Annabella Milbanke Byron, another as the result of an affair, and possibly a third, the daughter his half-sister gave birth to. When his marriage ended, Byron spent the last eight years of his life abroad, where a somewhat more forgiving societal rule prevailed. In 1824, while preparing to join the Greek uprising against Ottoman rule, he contracted a fever, was subjected to bloodletting, and finally died in Greece, where he is revered as a national hero. It took somewhat longer for such status to attach to him in his homeland, but in 1969, a mere 145 years after his death, a memorial to George Gordon, Lord Byron, was finally placed in Westminster Abbey. Oh, those impulsive Brits!
Born into the slums of Brooklyn in 1905 as the only daughter of Robert and Sarah Bow, Clara had a harsh upbringing. Sarah was mentally ill resulting from a head injury she sustained as a teenager from a fall and Clara spent much of her childhood taking care of her mother. Her father was often absent and barely supported the family. Perhaps it was this very abject early life that would provide Clara with her acting talent later known for its wide range of emotions. It was as if she could “live inside†any role given to her. The famous director Victor Fleming once compared Clara Bow to a Stradivarius violin: "Touch her and she responded with genius." The turning point of her success came in 1927 when she starred in the silent film “Itâ€, a Cinderella story which would forever stamp Clara with the sobriquet “The It Girl.†She became the biggest female box office draw during the years between 1927 and 1930 and a leading sex symbol of the times. Clara Bow acted in over 50 films spanning from the silent era into the “talkies†but she ended her Hollywood career at the young age of 28. Hollywood and her immense fame never really appealed to Clara Bow. She would go onto marry Rex Bell and retire as a Nevada rancher raising her two sons.
Born into the slums of Brooklyn in 1905 as the only daughter of Robert and Sarah Bow, Clara had a harsh upbringing. Sarah was mentally ill resulting from a head injury she sustained as a teenager from a fall and Clara spent much of her childhood taking care of her mother. Her father was often absent and barely supported the family. Perhaps it was this very abject early life that would provide Clara with her acting talent later known for its wide range of emotions. It was as if she could “live inside†any role given to her. The famous director Victor Fleming once compared Clara Bow to a Stradivarius violin: "Touch her and she responded with genius." The turning point of her success came in 1927 when she starred in the silent film “Itâ€, a Cinderella story which would forever stamp Clara with the sobriquet “The It Girl.†She became the biggest female box office draw during the years between 1927 and 1930 and a leading sex symbol of the times. Clara Bow acted in over 50 films spanning from the silent era into the “talkies†but she ended her Hollywood career at the young age of 28. Hollywood and her immense fame never really appealed to Clara Bow. She would go onto marry Rex Bell and retire as a Nevada rancher raising her two sons.
Born into the slums of Brooklyn in 1905 as the only daughter of Robert and Sarah Bow, Clara had a harsh upbringing. Sarah was mentally ill resulting from a head injury she sustained as a teenager from a fall and Clara spent much of her childhood taking care of her mother. Her father was often absent and barely supported the family. Perhaps it was this very abject early life that would provide Clara with her acting talent later known for its wide range of emotions. It was as if she could “live inside†any role given to her. The famous director Victor Fleming once compared Clara Bow to a Stradivarius violin: "Touch her and she responded with genius." The turning point of her success came in 1927 when she starred in the silent film “Itâ€, a Cinderella story which would forever stamp Clara with the sobriquet “The It Girl.†She became the biggest female box office draw during the years between 1927 and 1930 and a leading sex symbol of the times. Clara Bow acted in over 50 films spanning from the silent era into the “talkies†but she ended her Hollywood career at the young age of 28. Hollywood and her immense fame never really appealed to Clara Bow. She would go onto marry Rex Bell and retire as a Nevada rancher raising her two sons.
