The humble ploughman-poet Robert Burns is one of Scotland's most enduring literary figures. His poems – Auld Lang Syne, Tam o' Shanter, Scots Wha Hae, and many more – put the Scots Language in the minds and hearts of people all around the world. 

Known to many simply as 'The Bard', Burns was born into a farming family in Alloway, near Ayr, and was introduced to popular Scottish tales and ballads in childhood. A tenant farmer, often struggling, he still found time to write and in 1786 he published his first collection of poetry, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect, which became known as the 'Kilmarnock edition'. This included one of his most famous poems, 'To a mouse'.

The book was immediately successful, and Burns set off for Edinburgh, where he found himself lionised by society.

Burns' legacy

Burns died in Dumfries at the age of just 37. But although he never left Scotland in his short lifetime, his influence is still felt around the world. His poetry has been translated into over 25 languages and his unique voice, combining lyricism, cynicism, satire, comedy and political comment, has had a lasting, if sometimes sentimentalised, appeal. Statues and monuments dedicated to him can be found in America, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and France, as well, of course, in Scotland.

Personal relics of the poet started to be scattered after his death: Burns’s wife, Jean Armour, was generous to visitors. Burns clubs and Burns suppers soon followed. The first major commemoration was held in 1844. The 85th anniversary of Burns’s birth, timed so that his three sons could be present. There were other large events in 1859, 1896 and 1909. The 1844 procession and dinner centred on Alloway, but in the other years there were celebrations all over the country.  

Robert Burns has more statues dedicated to him around the world than any non-religious figure aside from Christopher Columbus and Queen Victoria.