Byron, Robert, 1905-1941

Robert Byron (1905-1941), writer and art critic, was born in London and educated at Eton College and Merton College, Oxford University. Byron made a career out of writing about his extensive travels (including Greece, India, Tibet, Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq). Byron also wrote on art and architecture in both his travel narratives and in other projects (such as The Appreciation of Architecture published in 1927). He was a founding member of the Georgian Group, which was established in 1937 as an offshoot of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. During World War II Byron worked for the British Ministry of Information as a propagandist, for which he traveled to Germany. Byron died on his way to the Middle East on February 24, 1941, when the ship he was on was torpedoed.

Robert Byron, writer and art critic, was born in London and educated at Eton College and Merton College, Oxford University. Byron was the first of three children born to Eric Byron, a civil engineer, and Margaret Robinson Byron, an amateur artist. Byron made a career out of writing about his extensive travels and his first book, Europe in the Looking-Glass (1926), is based on his travels to Germany, Italy, and Greece while still an undergraduate student. Byron's later travels to Greece (1926, 1927, and 1931), and fascination with Byzantine art, were also inspiration for his books The Station (1928), The Byzantine Achievement (1929), and The Birth of Western Painting (1931).

In 1929 Byron flew to India for the Daily Express in order to write a series of articles on the Indian air mail. Once in India, Byron continued his travels throughout the region (including a stint in Tibet) which he wrote about in articles as well as in his book An Essay on India (1931). Byron later recounted his travels in Tibet following a trip to Russia (1932) in his book First Russia, Then Tibet (1933).

In 1933 and 1934 Byron traveled to the Middle East, spending time largely in Persia and Afghanistan, but also passing through Cyprus, Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. These travels resulted in Byron's best known book: The Road to Oxiana (1937). Byron collaborated with Christopher Sykes to publish the novel Innocence and Design (1935) under the pseudonym "Richard Waughburton" in which they drew on their experiences in Persia (now Iran). Byron also wrote an essay, "Timurid Architecture", for Arthur Upham Pope's Survey of Persian Art (1938) based on his observations of Persian architecture. On his return to England Byron worked on two travel books on the British Isles: Shell Guide to Wiltshire (1935) and Imperial Pilgrimage (1937). Byron continued traveling after his trip to the Middle East, including trips to America, Russia, Siberia, China, and Japan, reporting on his experiences in newspapers and journals.

Byron wrote on art and architecture in both his travel narratives and in other projects (such as The Appreciation of Architecture published in 1927). He was also a founding member of the Georgian Group, which was established in 1937 as an offshoot of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

In the late thirties and early forties Byron's chief preoccupation was with Nazism and World War II. While Byron's pursuit of a position with the military was unsuccessful, he found outlets for political action in the Federal Union League and with the Ministry of Information. In 1938 Byron secured contract work with the Ministry of Information as a propagandist, for which he traveled to Germany and attended the Parteitag (the Nazi Party Congress). On his return to Britain the project ended and Byron ultimately joined the European News Department of the BBC. In 1940 Byron again became involved with government wartime endeavors and, under the guise of a Times correspondent, he was sent to Iran in order to observe Russian activity regarding Middle East oil. Byron died on his way to the Middle East on February 24, 1941 when the ship he was on was torpedoed.