Robert (Robbie) Burns was born January 25, 1759 in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland; the eldest son of William Burns, a self-educated tenant farmer. Despite challenges of poverty, hard farm labour and limited educational opportunities, or because of them, Robbie became a poet of great humanity, eventually being recognized as Scotland's National Bard.
Like Scots around the world we celebrate his birthday with an evening of food, poetry and music.