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A 'Heavenly taught ploughman' <ref>The History Today Who's Who,p 122</ref> the [[poet]] and songwriter '''Robert Burns''' was born into a farming family at Alloway in Ayrshire on January the 25th 1759. He died in Dumfries at the early age of 37 yet in his short life he took the literary world by storm establishing himself as a poet of "tenderness, roughness &mdash; delicacy, coarseness &mdash; sentiment, sensuality &mdash; dirt and deity"<ref>Lord Byron</ref> Burns is a [[Scottish]] cultural icon and his birthday is celebrated each year with supper on Burns Nicht.

A 'Heavenly taught ploughman' <ref>The History Today Who's Who,p 122</ref> the [[poet]] and songwriter '''Robert Burns''' was born into a farming family at Alloway in Ayrshire on January the 25th 1759. He died in Dumfries at the early age of 37 yet in his short life he took the literary world by storm establishing himself as a poet of "tenderness, roughness &mdash; delicacy, coarseness &mdash; sentiment, sensuality &mdash; dirt and deity"<ref>Lord Byron</ref> Burns is a [[Scottish]] cultural icon -- considered by some to be the greatest Scot ever -- and his birthday is celebrated each year with supper on Burns Nicht.

 

[[John Steinbeck]] entitled his famous novel, "Of Mice and Men," by taking from a poem "To a Mouse" by Burns, and [[Bob Dylan]] considered Burns' work one of his greatest inspirations.

His father, William Burnes, was a poor farmer but he recognized the importance of an education and so with help from friends contracted the services of a local teacher, John Murdoch. At an early age, it was apparent to Murdoch that the young Robert showed potential.<ref>Scotland, William Ferguson,p220</ref> Like most farm children though the opportunity for formal education was limited because children had to help on the farm, especially at harvest time. This hard physical work caused Robert Burns to develop the heart condition rheumatic fever which was later to claim his life at an early age.

His father, William Burnes, was a poor farmer but he recognized the importance of an education and so with help from friends contracted the services of a local teacher, John Murdoch. At an early age, it was apparent to Murdoch that the young Robert showed potential.<ref>Scotland, William Ferguson,p220</ref> Like most farm children though the opportunity for formal education was limited because children had to help on the farm, especially at harvest time. This hard physical work caused Robert Burns to develop the heart condition rheumatic fever which was later to claim his life at an early age.