On Burns Night, here are ten facts about Robert Burns, also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, the National Bard, Bard of Ayrshire and the Ploughman Poet:
- He was born in Alloway, near Ayr, on 25 January 1759, and was the eldest child of a tenant farmer. He was the eldest of seven children and grew up in poverty. At 15, he was a farm labourer at his father’s farm, Mount Oliphant.
- His first poem was written to a girl who helped with the harvest at the farm. Her name was Nelly Kilpatrick and the poem was called O, Once I Lov'd A Bonnie Lass. A year later, sent away to school, he wrote some songs for a girl he met there, Peggy Thompson – Now Westlin' Winds and I Dream'd I Lay.
- He was certainly a ladies’ man from a young age. He fathered at least thirteen children, the first being a daughter called Elizabeth, the result of an affair with his mother’s servant. This was while he was starting a relationship with his future wife, Jean Armour. He got her pregnant too, with Twins. Although her family sent her away to an uncle to avoid disgrace, rather than have her marry Robert, they did marry, a couple of years later. Jean bore him nine children altogether but only three of them survived infancy. His last child, Maxwell, was born on the day of his funeral. As of 2019, Robert Burns has more than 900 living descendants. American designer Tommy Hilfiger claims to be a great, great, great nephew of Robert Burns.
- His name at birth was Robert Burness. He decided to shorten it to Burns when he was 27. Although he is frequently referred to as Rabbie Burns, he never went by that name in his lifetime. He was called Rob, Rab, Robin – even Spunlie – but never Rabbie.
- Robert Burns was initiated into the Masonic lodge St David, Tarbolton, on 4 July 1781, when he was 22.
- At one point he considered emigrating to Jamaica, but changed his mind when his poetry collection Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, started to sell well. He then moved to Edinburgh instead.
- He was just 37 when he died. The cause of his death isn’t known but the most popular theory is that he died of blood poisoning after having a tooth out.
- He has been an inspiration to many writers, including J.D. Salinger, who got the title for his novel The Catcher in the Rye from the Robert Burns poem, Comin’ Thro’ the Rye. Likewise, John Steinbeck got the title Of Mice and Men from a line in the Burns poem To a Mouse – “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an men / Gang aft agley”. Song writers, too, have turned to him for inspiration. Bob Dylan claims A Red, Red Rose by Burns is his greatest inspiration.
- Robert Burns has more statues dedicated to him around the world than any other non-religious figure apart from Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus. He was also the first person to ever feature on a commemorative bottle of Coca Cola. His poetry has even been into space, among the possessions of astronaut Nick Patrick, who carried a miniature book of Burns poetry on a two week long space mission in 2010.
- The first ever Burns Supper was a get together by some of Burns’s closest friends, five years after he died. They met to remember him in July, on the fifth anniversary of his death. Little did they know that Burns Suppers would become a worldwide annual celebration. Or that in 2009, their old friend would be voted "The Greatest Scot", ahead of William Wallace, Sir Alexander Fleming and Robert the Bruce.
See Also Burns Night
New Year New Reading Challenge?
I can help. Here are links to books which meet potential criteria:
A title with three words
- Death and Faxes
- Killing Me Softly
- Settling the Score
- Secrets and Skies
- Over the Rainbow
- Closing the Circle
A title with six words
A book with a number in the title
A book with a colour in the title
Short story collections/A book with a green cover
A book published in the last year/during lockdown
A book you can finish in a day/A book under 200 pages
A book featuring characters from a deck of cards
A Book set during Christmas
A book with a place in the title
A Debut novel
A book with a plant or flower on the cover/A book about siblings
A book with a female villain or criminal
Includes space travel
Features Royalty
Books featuring skiing or snowboarding
A book with the Olympic games in it
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A book featuring a secret society
A book featuring time travel/alternative dimensions
Raiders Trilogy:
Books featuring superheroes
Books featuring ghosts
From an Indie Publisher/Self published/An author you've not read before/A female author/A genre you wouldn't normally read/A book outside your comfort zone/A book by an author with your initials and your initials are JH
All of them!
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