Date Published 19 January 2023
Burns Night celebrated on the 25th January is fast approaching and marks the birthday of the famous Scott's Poet Birthday. Robert Burns died 1759 and the first Burns supper was held in 1801. In the 200 years since, many gather across the globe to celebrate with the traditions of feasting on Haggis & Whisky whilst reciting the Bards poetry.
Here are some things you may not know about this iconic Scot:
• Burns died at the age of 37. He was one of twelve children; his youngest sibling Maxwell was born on the days of Burns Funeral.
• After Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus, Robert Burns has more statues dedicated to him around the world than any other non-religious figure.
• J.D. Salinger's 1951 novel, 'The Catcher in the Rye' based its title on the Robert Burns poem, 'Comin' Thro' the Rye'.
• Although best known as a poet, Burns actually wrote and collected almost double the amount of songs than poems. Including ‘Auld Lang Syne' which features in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the top three most popular songs in the English Language.
• The work of Robert Burns has appeared in hundreds of films and TV programmes, including Hollywood classics like 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946), 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989) and 'Forrest Gump' (1994).
• American clothes designer Tommy Hilfiger claims to be a direct descendant of Robert Burns.
• Burns' body was exhumed in 1815 to be placed in a new mausoleum in the town of Dumfries. During this process, a plaster cast of his skull was taken for study, which was found to be larger than the average man's skull.
• 'Is There For Honest Poverty' (also known as 'A Man's a Man for a' That') was chosen to open the new Scottish Parliament in 1999 due to its themes of equality and universal brotherhood.
• John Steinbeck's classic 1937 novel, 'Of Mice and Men' took its name from a line in the Burns poem To a Mouse – 'The best laid schemes o' mice an men / Gang aft agley'.
