July 21: On This Day in World History … briefly
The strong emotional highs and lows associated with many of Burns's poems have led some, such as Burns biographer Robert Crawford, to suggest that he suffered from manic depression - a hypothesis that has been supported by analysis of various samples of his handwriting.
1796: Robert Burns dies in hardship
Scotland’s unofficial Poet Laureate Robert Burns died in Dumphries at the age of 37. His premature death from rheumatic heart disease is attributed to the privations and hardship of his years as a struggling tenant farmer.
His success as a poet began on publication of his first volume, entitled ‘Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect’. Country people and Edinburgh sophisticates found much to admire in the book’s blend of social satire, verse letters, nature poems and high-minded idealisation of family life.
His low social status, however, prevented him from truly finding his niche, despite his undoubted intellectual abilities. He spent the last seven years of his life collecting and providing words for traditional Scottish tunes as well as working for the excise service.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
To receive our FREE email newsletter, click HERE
