Fare Thee Well (poem)

Lord Byron married Annabella Milbanke on 2 January 1815.

At the end of that year, their only child was born, a girl later known as Ada Lovelace, the computer programmer.

Over the next few months, their marriage crumbled, and in March 1816 they made a legal settlement of separation.

That month, Byron composed "Fare Thee Well" and enclosed a note that said, "Dearest Bell – I send you the first verses that ever I attempted to write upon you, and perhaps the last that I may ever write at all."

In April he signed a Deed of Separation and added the following notation: A year ago, you swore, fond she!