21 July 1796: Robert Burns dies

Robert Burns, as a non-religious figure, is amongst the people who have the most statues dedicated in their honour around the world. There are well over 60 statues dedicated to the Scottish poet and these can be found across many countries around the world. [1]

Robert Burns, also known as Robbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He died at the young age of 37 on 21 July 1796 in Dumfries near the mouth of the River Nith in Scotland.

Burns is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He advocated poetry in dialect and is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest. He was part of the Edinburgh Enlightenment and became the ‘people’s poet’ of Soviet Russia.

As well as writing original compositions, Burns also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them, thus saving many from extinction. His poem (and song) Auld Lang Syne is sung on New Year’s Eve and his Scots Wha Hae served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country.

From 1791, he lived in Dumfries in a two-storey red sandstone house, which is now a museum. As an Excise Supervisor, he frequently went on long horseback journeys, often in harsh weather conditions. The father of four young children, he was kept very busy doing reports, song collecting and writing.

As his health began to deteriorate, Burns aged prematurely and fell into fits of despondency. There has been much speculation over his cause of death. It has been said that his drinking may have aggravated a long-standing rheumatic heart condition, although lack of evidence from that time prevents a conclusive cause.

Robbie Burns is not only celebrated in Scotland but enjoys worldwide acclaim. People sing his song on New Year’s Eve, they feast on tatties and neeps for his birthday, they join clubs and societies in his name, and, over the years, have erected more statues of him around the world than has been equalled by any other writer anywhere. In Scotland, museums, houses, farms, and clubs make up the Burns Trail around the country. He is a cultural icon.