Talk:Robert Burns

Robbie Burns
No mention as Robbie Burns. [2004.12.31 JPiper]
 * Yes, that's true. No mention as "rantin' rovin' Robin", "Rab the Rhymer" or "Rabbie Burns" either. There are lots of things that you could call him. If you thought that a mention as "Robbie Burns" was needed why didn't you add one ? -- Derek Ross |  Talk 19:08, 2004 Dec 31 (UTC)

Poems!!
Please don't copy/paste your favorite poem to the article, I removed the following text:

One of his most famous poems is: A Red, Red Rose O my Luve's like a red, red rose, That's newly sprung in June: O my Luve's like the melodie, That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun; And I will luve thee still, my dear, While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve! And fare-thee-weel, a while! And I will come again, my Luve, Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile! Robert Burns

You should add this to wikisource and not the article about Burns, thank you!


 * Actually this poem is already on wikisource--130.161.31.26 19:17, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * When I checked, there was no text in the article - so I copied the above in. [[Image:Flag of Ireland.svg|20px]] Camillus [[Image:Flag of Scotland.svg|20px]]talk 16:01, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. No poems but by all means expand the story of Rabbie's life. I've just put in the bare bones so far and there's room for lots more detail. -- Derek Ross | Talk 19:35, Feb 28, 2005 (UTC)

Statues
An interesting bit of trivia that serves to highlight Burns popularity: There are more statues of Burns worldwide than of any other writer or composer. In fact the only people to have more statues erected to them are religious figures such as Christ and Buddha -- or Stalin (who liked erecting statues of himself). I would put this in the article if I could just find a reliable source to confirm it ... -- Derek Ross | Talk 2 July 2005 18:23 (UTC)


 * And given that that is the case, let's not turn this article into a list of statues of Burns. No more statues please. We've already got too many. -- Derek Ross | Talk 15:33, 5 January 2006 (UTC)


 * I just tried to organise what was there into subdivided country lists, but it does seem to be getting too bloated? Is there a case for a List of Robert Burns memorials? :Supergolden:: 13:14, 3 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I think it is. I will move them. --Guinnog 17:08, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Currency convention
Gilbert Burns was his brother and was born in 1760. As per the Wikipedia:Manual of Style currency convention, I've changed the reference to '$36,000' to 'US$36,000'. If I am in error (if the purchase was made in AUS or CDN), please correct my edit. Although Euros might seem logical since Burns is Scottish, I guess the currency referred to in the article should be whatever the buyer paid in. Forgive me for being too lazy to look through the source material to find the answer myself.--Anchoress 09:46, 25 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Euros are European. Since Burns is Scottish, pounds would seem to be more logical than euros. -- Derek Ross | Talk 16:09, 25 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Scotland is in Europe, though not yet in the Euro zone. Dollars are fine in the article.Guinnog 16:13, 25 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Scotland is in Britain. Europe is across the North Sea. Dollars are fine in the article. -- Derek Ross | Talk 18:46, 26 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Scotland is in Britain. Europe is across the North Sea. And America is across the Atlantic. So why are dollars fine in the article? As it's about a British writer why would we impose an American currency? Yallery Brown 10:53, 8 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Scotland isn't 'in' Britain, it is part of it - it is also part of Europe. Dollars, however, make no sense - it should either be pounds or euro's.  WP:MOSNUM suggests that pounds would be the most sensible outcome. SFC9394 11:02, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

You are all missing the point completely. As it stands there is an unreferenced statement "Copies of this edition are now extremely rare, and as much as US$36,000 has been paid for one" in the article. Either this should have a reference added, or it should be removed. If there was a reference then it is simple to determine the actual currency used in the transaction and then use that. /wangi 11:11, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Sweet Afton
Anyone fancy writing a short stub for this poem, to overwrite some non-notable cruft that's currently there? Thanks/wangi 08:55, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Burns redirecting here
Is there any good reason why Burns redirects here? I know Robert Burns is famous, but there are lots of other cases in Wikipedia where a disambiguation page exists as the primary page for a surname, even if one of the listed people is extremely famous. I find it hard to believe that interested people will have a hard time finding the entry on Robert Burns if Burns doesn't redirect here. Dsreyn 15:33, 20 May 2006 (UTC)


 * This seems to be an instance of bias more than anything, and Burns doesn't need to redirect here. Burns has been moved to a disambiguation page four times with only the explanation "restore" by user:Mais oui!, an action which has been reverted three different times (about to be four times) by three different users, including myself.  There are too many instances of Burns throughout Wikipedia, including city names (Burns, Colorado, i.e.) and people (R. Nicholas Burns, i.e.), for it to simply redirect here.  Of a Google search, only two of the first ten results even have to do with Robert Burns.  Please consider discussing this instead of simply reverting the same decision made by three different users with nothing but "restore" as an explanation.  It doesn't help.  --tomf688 (talk - email) 00:56, 21 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Not sure where you get the google info from, typing burns into google gives 5 of the top 10 related to him - with the other 5 all being on different subjects (ie. no one clear competitor). If there was a clear second choice for the word then I would support going to a disambig - but I afraid Burns, Colorado doesn't really compete against an internationally recognised and celebrated poet (from the Burns, CO article: "It consists of a post office, as well as cluster of houses and trailers").  As  for people - nobody is known just as "Burns", they are known as "foobar Burns" - the closest internationally known would probably be Mr. Burns from the Simpson’s, but even then he is always known as Mr Burns - not as just Burns, which is what RB is commonly known as.  I don't think there is a clear case of anyone or anything else having anywhere near the notability of the singular word Burns, thus there is no reason that a diambig should be used.  The disambig page should also be heavily altered to conform to the MOS, which states "Always place the most-common meaning(s) at the top." - at the moment we have a red linked Australian politician as the first entry, and Robert Burns half way down the page - that is just making life difficult for the end reader.  SFC9394 01:22, 21 May 2006 (UTC)


 * The reason the Australian politician is first is that the entries are divided into subcategories, and arranged alphabetically within each group. There are plenty of other disambig pages that have a similar arrangement, including the division into subcategories.  If all the names are arranged in one big list, and sorted by significance, it's not likely that it will help to find anyone other than the first few entries...and I would assume that most users can find Robert Burns already without much assistance.  Dsreyn 03:11, 21 May 2006 (UTC)


 * I am simply following the diambig MOS - and unless there are special reasons to ignore it I would generally support following the MOS. I am sure out of the diambig list there are half a dozen or so that could be shaken to the top of the pile on the basis of notability, and the rest that are all much of a similar obscure level of notability could then be listed alphabetically.  As it stands it makes non sense - either from an easy navigation point of view, or from a conforming to MOS point of view. SFC9394 11:37, 21 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Discussion of the layout for the disambig page doesn't really belong here. The main question we ought to be discussing is whether or not "Burns" should redirect here. Dsreyn 14:10, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Robert Burns may indeed be well known as simply "Burns", but there are just far too many other occurances of the word "Burns" for this guy to take precendence. He may be well known, but "Burns" is a very common name used in far more instances, unlike Plato. And SFC, are you using http://www.google.com or http://www.google.co.uk? I was referring to the .com version. --tomf688 (talk - email) 01:50, 22 May 2006 (UTC)


 * The present arrangement is a problem, and 'Burns' almost certainly should redirect here. It seems strange that it does not, and that the repeated restoration of the redirect was actually contested and reversed. In common usage Robert Burns is routinely referred to as 'Burns' without qualification - no doubt partly because of the influence of the Burns Supper and Burns Night (nobody goes to a 'Robert Burns Supper' on 'Robert Burns Night'). Burns is a Scottish surname but if used on its own is generally - and universally among literary critics as well as anyone with any knowledge of or affinity with Scottish culture - understood to mean the poet. The suggestion that there are too many other notable instances can't really be taken seriously. Burns is a national icon and in the nineteenth century his cult spread to Europe, and worldwide with Scottish settlement. One can argue the literary merits (that's something else, as against his popularity). But his being reduced to an entry on a disambiguation page in alphabetical order is frankly bizarre. It does seem hard to justify. If nobody can come up with a plausible objection I'll go ahead and make the change. Lachrie (talk) 13:27, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Robert Burns' Catholic roots
A strong opponent to the Kirk of Scotland, a freemason and all...but here I found out something about Burns as a Catholic raised man. This is the link: http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/frameindex.html?http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/people/robert_burns.html

I'm going to add his name to the "Scottish Roman Catholics" page. Gianmaria Framarin 2:39 3 June 2006


 * And while you're at it you might as well add every other Presbyterian, since they're all catholic in the sense used on that website. Oh wait a minute, "catholic" doesn't mean the same thing as "Roman Catholic", does it. Perhaps you'd better not. -- Derek Ross | Talk 04:39, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Drunk Poets Society
If anybody cares, there's a celebration of Rabi every Jan, with a single-malt & an ode to a haggis (for which you'd need the single malt). Spenser for Hire 12:10, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Apologies for nitpicking, but I think you mean Rabbie. Rabi is a vegetable.--Guinevere50 17:37, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Standard Habbie
Why is there no mention of this stanza style in the article? -- Mal 05:08, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Picture of Burns Statue, Dumfries
The text of the picture states that the Church behind it is Greyfriars, which is correct, but this is NOT the Greyfriars where Bruce slew Comyn. The site of that Church was a supermarket across the square from the current Greyfriars Church when I lived in Dumfries, and a plaque on the wall indicated this history. MikeG-Scot 16:43, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Mirror without credit
An anon added this link: * Works By Robert Burns. Apart from a couple of links to downloadable books at the top, it's a mirror of this page, including edit links which appear to take you to edit here. There's no sign I could find of acknowlegement of Wikipedia, instead the banner at the foot says "Copyright © 2005 Bookyards.com - All rights reserved." This seems to me to be a clear copyright violation, but since I don't know what to do about it, I've moved it here. .. dave souza, talk 07:12, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Burns's not Burns'
Although some feel this is a contentious point, Burns takes the 's in the possessive. The Wiki definition is clear on this. The other reference is the official Robert Burns site, as linked to here, show the same Burns's in use.

http://www.google.com/search?as_sitesearch=www.robertburns.org&as_q=burns%27s

MrMarmite 20:26, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps Mr Mais_Oui you could have responded here rather than multiple reverts. MrMarmite 07:49, 23 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I see you've been changing many Wikipedia articles - which is the Wikipedia article on apostrophe usage? Either is grammatically correct, but I don't know if Wikipedia policy is to prefer one form? Mdwh 10:31, 4 June 2007 (UTC)


 * The Link -  Thanks for your comment, I felt lonely here. The only ones I have changed are where the person themselves uses the 's. It is a point of much debate, and both the BBC and Burns's "official" website use both rather randomly. I've no plans on making any changes to Burns as I had hoped to start a discussion on the matter. MrMarmite 13:12, 4 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the link, that's interesting to read. Mdwh 22:06, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

On balance I prefer Burns's. But whichever is to be preferred, this article ought to be consistent, which it currently isn't.

--Malleus Fatuarum 21:48, 5 August 2007 (UTC)
 * From the Biography section: "Burns's youth was passed in poverty ..."
 * From the Final years and poetic reputation section: "Burns' health began to give way ..."


 * Easily fixed :) Consistent now. Chris Cunningham 06:52, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Deletions of Biography Contribution and additional Links
frglee 12/8/07

I note that two set of contributions I made a few days ago have been deleted. I am surprised that an obviously inadequate bigraphy section about Burns seems once more to stop in 1788 and contains no information about Ellisland farm or his work as a tax collector in Dumfries. I am also surprised that someone has seen fit to delete very useful links to Ellisland Farm museum,the Burns house and museum in Dumfries,The Burns centre In Dumfries and the Burns National heritage centre at Alloway. All were deleted.Why?


 * Please go back and read the entire article. Not only does it not stop in 1788, but everything you had added was aready there. You had inserted a mention of Ellisland, the excise in Dumfries, and Burns's death, just before the part on Burns's writing, when a piece on Ellisland and a linked reference to Burns's excise work, as well as a passage about his death already existed further on in the article. Also, the links that you added were to pages that didn't exist. If you were planning to write articles on Ellisland Farm, Jean Armour etc, please do so and feel free to link them in the article. I hope this clarifies the situation, Yallery Brown 23:05, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

I apologise for the error of the biography addition although I am still unable to find much information to Burns living in Dumfries in the remaining article.As I mentioned I think the biography seems rather limited, a bit disorganised and a little unbalanced..The long section re the masonic connections for example.

It is not true that the links I added do not exist. http://www.ellislandfarm.co.uk and http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/dumgal/MiniWeb.aspx?id=180&menuid=2811&openid=2802 and http://www.burnsheritagepark.com/attraction.php?id=1 are all useful and interesting links for visitors and those interested in the Robert Burns story,I think.They are a long way from being theme parks or commercial ventures btw,but are government supported centres much used by educational institutions.

Highlighting names and places on Wikipedia is surely just a way to draw attention to readers and editors that one reader thought that the items might be worthy of an article.If I do it it does not mean that I feel qualified to write an article myself,but I certainly agree that Jean Armour might make an interesting Wiki topic,especially as she has recently had a statue erected to her in Dumfries,Scotland. User:frglee 1600, 13 August 2007

Yallery Brown 17:41, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
 * The links to tourist attractions were deleted by another user who clarified why he'd done so in the edit summary. The highlighting of names in articles should only be done if they actually refer to other existing pages on Wikipedia, otherwise users are directed to a page which says 'This page does not exist'. While I don't disagree that Jean Armour and Ellisland are worthy of articles, until someone writes them there's really no point creating links for them. Dumfries is mentioned six times throughout the article. I agree that the biography could be expanded, but for the sake of quality this ought only to be done with information that isn't already in it.

Blue Bells of Scotland
While it's not by Burns, this song was also popularised by the George Thomson "Select Collection". It seems like a fair bet that a Burns expert would have good references for this - ie that the song is in there, arranged by Haydn, which volume, etc? If you've got info like that handy, could you add it to Talk:Bluebells_of_Scotland or the article itself? - thanks Bazzargh 23:18, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

"Unco"
Unco redirects here. Anyone knows why? No "unco" string in the article. --Jerome Potts 19:30, 4 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Presumably because of Address To The Unco Guid. The editor responsible only has six edits, all on the same day over a year ago. If you feel like housekeeping you could take it to WP:RFD I suppose. Chris Cunningham 19:54, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

Merger proposal
I propose that Agnes Broun, his mother, should be merged here. See discussion at Articles for deletion/Agnes Broun. --Brewcrewer (talk) 01:33, 18 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I am against merging. The Agnes Broun article should stand or fall on its own merits but there seems little to merge to this article. --John (talk) 20:34, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Missing Question
Why is it that there is no mention of "Flow gently sweet Afton" whatsoever on this page when it is one of Burns's most popular works? No link or nothing? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.139.159 (talk) 03:02, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Well I suppose that it must be because neither you nor I have added any mention. I know why I didn't and, no doubt, you know why you didn't, so those are the reasons. -- Derek Ross | Talk 04:04, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Of course, "Flow gently Sweet Afton" should be mentioned on the Robert Burns page among his most popular works. I would like to edit the Robert Burns page to include "Sweet Afton" but can not because the page is locked.

Rantin Rovin Robin book link
Hi there,

I would like to include an external link to a website which features a book by the author Colin Hunter McQueen. I have read the criteria for including a link and feel that it may offer relevant information on the subject of Burns. I am a Burns fan and came across this website through a flyer distributed at a Burns Conference. The link is: http://www.drumbow.co.uk/RantinRovinRobin.htm thank you for your time. Pictmatrix (talk) 20:27, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

NPOV?
This article is marked NPOV but I see no controversy here on the talk page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.112.5.162 (talk) 17:06, 24 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Read the opening paragraph where Robbie is referred to as one of the pioneers of the Romantic movement as one of the inspirations for the founders of Socialism and Liberalism (I guess he was big during the 1790's in France, too?). There is so much claimed about him and almost none of it is backed up (of all his nicknames, I've personally heard "Robbie" and "Bobby"...). The original author asserts that in Scotland he is known simply as "The Bard" - claiming that someone has a title that simple devoted to oneself in all of a country but having no sources is kind of silly. There are no direct citations throughout the whole article, too. 142.58.59.195 (talk) 00:00, 25 January 2008 (UTC)
 * It seems strange that you would challenge the POV of this based on what you personally have not heard, unless you would have a reasonable expectation of hearing it, through say having read a book about Burns, or being Scottish, perhaps. The nicknames are correct - I'll try to provide some cites for you. As to being "big during the 1790's in France", well, i'm pretty sure he was, actually, but that may take more digging than my interest supports. 86.44.6.14 (talk) 22:30, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I have changed the tag to unrefrenced. Your comments are (correct) criticisms of the lack of referencing.  NPOV is something different. SFC9394 (talk) 22:41, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Section: Literary Style
Does anyone else think that the 'Literary Style' section is out of place where it is in the 'Middle Years section? Fairweather01 (talk) 21:51, 11 October 2008 (UTC)


 * It was all edited in by someone a few days ago, I actually suspect it may be plagiarised. --Delta-NC (talk) 23:52, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I've done some Googling, and although that isn't authoritative, it has the look and feel of an academic work, and is devoid of references. This needs some looking into. --Rodhull andemu 00:20, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

Siblings?
Is it not standard to mention siblings in biographical articles, eg: By the way, the copyright on these images is expired, so can be safely downloaded to Commons or en.wikipedia, if felt necessary. See also. --Mais oui! (talk) 13:41, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Isabella Burns, Mrs John Begg, 1771 - 1858. Youngest sister of Robert Burns
 * National Galleries of Scotland

Nationality.
He is British, having been born after the act of union it makes his nationality British. Therefore, I have simply added this after Scottish in brackets to make it more factual. Wikipedia is not a place to distort the truth with your own nationalistic ideologies. (If you revert my constructive edit without proper consultation, It will be treated as vandalism)Celtic Muffin&amp;Co. (talk) 20:10, 25 January 2009 (UTC)


 * "If you revert my constructive edit without proper consultation, It will be treated as vandalism". Sorry, that is not how wikipedia works.  Secondly the point you raise is contentious and has been gone over over plenty of times on other articles of this type - the narrow definition you give "having been born after the act of union", was roundly disagreed with when proposed a good while ago.  Such a definition is nonsense, and I think of the straw poll that was taken at the time, pretty much everyone other than the proposers said it was a nonsense suggestion - especially for historical figures. SFC9394 (talk) 20:38, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

First, his Nationality was British, there is no denying this, and just because a bunch of Scottish nationalistic English-Hating (Had to be said) persons decided he is not does not make it so. I merely added British in brackets after Scottish to make it more factual. If his Nationality is set as Scottish then British should also be added, as this is fact not opinion. Anyway, why is his nationality mentioned at all? It has no bearing with his work; he was not a political activist.Celtic Muffin&amp;Co. (talk) 20:57, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Actually, looking back on that last bit, that is a very good point...Celtic Muffin&amp;Co. (talk) 21:01, 25 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Please read WP:NPA and please read it very carefully. If you can't limit your comments to the content rather than the contributor then don't bother editing wikipedia - that is policy, and deviations from it (at least by me) will not be tolerated.  SFC9394 (talk) 21:14, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Well reading this is like reading the financial times at the moment, depressing, dull and rather samey. Get it? (Happy burns night people!)Kasbaar (talk) 21:25, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

250 Year Anniversary
This link from the BBC might help more educated people here enrich Robert Burns' Wiki. I also noticed that there are audio files. They will not load in the US however, as I received an error message. I am not a great Wikipedia user, or I might have at least added a link to the BBC site. http://www.bbc.co.uk/robertburns/
 * 25 January 2009 marked 250 years to the day since Scotland's national poet was born. This website celebrates Rabbie Burns's life and achievements in poetry and song. Learn more about how this website will grow in the coming months and years.

--70.248.107.206 (talk) 22:55, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Bipolar disorder
Well, at the risk of opening a can of worms, the "was Burns bipolar" debate is now part of the article. I've slotted it in as best I could, but if anybody wants to shuffle it around to some other section, go ahead. &mdash;Spudtater (talk • contribs) 10:45, 10 June 2009 (UTC)


 * It should be labeled "bipolar" rather than "manic depression" as it is now. 16:11, 31 January 2014 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.118.26.43 (talk)

Bawdy poetry
The article has only the briefest passing reference to Burns' bawdy poetry, which is actually more 'filthy' than 'bawdy'. If the article were complete, I think it would add to the references to his genteel poetry some reference to his dirty poetry. It might be difficult to find citations, though, since most of it has always been 'underground', possibly to preserve the sanctity of his status as Scotland's greatest bard. What do others here think? David spector (talk) 00:41, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Plently of material here.

http://www.robertburns.org.uk/merrymuses.htm

I saw an edition of this book once myself. 81.154.77.13 (talk) 11:01, 21 April 2017 (UTC)

Semiprotected
I've semiprotected the article for a couple of days, as it's getting a fair amount of random IP vandalism around the clock. The move protection, incidentally, I've left unchanged. A check of the prot log for this article shows that Burns Night does seem to be the silly season for this article. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 16:37, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

Fatherhood at 17?
Some Burns- speakers at these Burns night gatherings just love to say Robert Burns had children by the time he was 17. May I request that such allegations may be disconfirmed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.108.30.208 (talk) 23:13, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Oppertunities declined
He would happen to be offered a job for The Star newspaper in London, though it was founded 100 years later. What I don't get is why he would refuse to be the first head of the Agriculture Faculty at the Univerity of Edinburgh. Can someone please have us more enlightened on this/these issue(s)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.108.30.208 (talk) 23:26, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Good point. I have removed the link to The Star (London) paper, as clearly it must have been an earlier publication, if at all.  Also added a tag to see if we can get both these cited.  -- Escape Orbit  (Talk) 11:44, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Freeemasonry
I respectfully suggest that the detail on Burns' involvement in Freemasonry is not notable. Socheid (talk) 10:52, 5 November 2011 (UTC) Would you care to elucidate? Is it because you think Freemasonry is not notable, or that his involvement in it is not notable? I would disagree on either count. Freemasonry included a huge number of notable people in its ranks, as well as a multitude of ordinary men; and Burns' Masonic career is quite notable for someone who died so very young. Thank you. (Wikiwrangler (talk) 17:20, 17 July 2017 (UTC))

Scottish or British ?
There is a proposal here [] that an editor is trying to pass. It would see ALL nationalities of the UK - at various stages - giving way to just British and the place of birth pipelinked to the UK as in this example Scotland. I am putting this here to see if any editors here would like to contribute .Murry1975 (talk) 21:05, 13 November 2011 (UTC)
 * To be more accurate, concerning this article: my proposal would have this option for the infobox: Scotland, GB or Great Britain. GoodDay (talk) 21:50, 13 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Sorry my misunderstanding on that . Murry1975 (talk) 21:54, 13 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I can understand the proposal as it does make sense and is correct as the UK is the country of birth and death. However what about just stating in the infobox: Nationality: British; Ethnicity: Scottish? That way we get both stated. The wikilink to UK however is unneeded as the Scotland article makes it clear its a part of the UK anyways. Mabuska (talk) 13:52, 14 November 2011 (UTC)
 * In the case of Burns, we'd be linking to KofGB. GoodDay (talk) 15:23, 14 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Ah yes good point. Mabuska (talk) 12:00, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

I made changes to the intro & infobox (with the knowledge that it will be reverted). Still though, it'll be in article's history for anybody to check out. We should consider adopting those changes to all bio articles. GoodDay (talk) 19:29, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

PS: Having UK in the infobox is optional, just see the Canadian & American bio articles. GoodDay (talk) 19:31, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

I have to agree that Burn's nationality was British not Scottish. After 1707 all English and Scottish folk became legally British. As for 'language' in the same box. Though Burns is famous for his Scots dialect poetry his language was unquestionably English - as anyone can discover from reading Burn's own introduction to his poetic works. Burn's non-poetic writing is in impeccable well-educated 18th century English. Cassandra Cassandrathesceptic (talk) 13:46, 24 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Few points;
 * Wikipedia is not a legal record of nationality. See WP:UKNATIONALS.
 * How do you know he wrote his introduction in his usual language? As an educated man he could adapt his language to suit the expectations of his readers.
 * Regardless, Burn's "voice" that he is notable for is that of his poetry, not his introductions.
 * -- Escape Orbit (Talk) 16:56, 24 September 2019 (UTC)

I agree with others here that Robert Burn's nationality was British not Scottish. There is no such nationality as "Scottish" it doesn't exist and hasn't done since long before Rabbie was born. You can consider yourself "Scottish" as in 'originating from Scotland' just as you can consider yourself "Californian" or "Glaswegian" - originating from California or Glasgow. But neither "Californian" nor "Glaswegian" nor "Scottish" are nationalities. This is an indisputable fact: Rabbie's Nationality was not Scottish is was British. And in Rabbie's own words "Be Britain still to Britain true, Amang ourselves united; for never but by British hands Shall British wrangs be righted!" - he was British; and proud of it too. Not everyone will like it but its an indisputable fact. https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/does_haughty_gaul_invasion_threat/

For those that might be interested, the UK has a legal concept of Domicile, which is necessary for such matters as matrimonial law (and divorce, etc). Someone born in mainland Britain is either domiciled in England & Wales, or in Scotland, as Scotland has a different legal system from England & Wales. So there is at least one sense in which being Scottish as distinct from English is important. But Burns was British. Thomas Peardew (talk) 06:32, 7 January 2020 (UTC)


 * I can only again direct people to the document WP:UKNATIONALS. The reasons being presented for changing the article are tired, old arguments that have discounted ages ago. -- Escape Orbit  (Talk) 15:55, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

That is absolute Rubbish in WP:UKNATIONALS which was written just 3 weeks ago without any discussion whatsoever. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.174.169.20 (talk) 18:32, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

Trying to take some of the heat out of this discussion (as a French citizen I have no axe to grind, and in addition being neither an English nor a Scots nationalist), it is worth pointing out that the information box at the top of WP:UKNATIONALS says
 * It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

It's true that page has been developed over a couple of years, so it wasn't written just three weeks ago, but equally the advice it gives is by no means as clear-cut as Escape_Orbit suggests (if it is, perhaps they could point me to the part that is definitive? He can happily continue to describe me as tired and old, as both adjectives would be correct, if without determinative value - WP is an encyclopedia, not a beauty parade). My own view - and I do have one - was that Burns was living only shortly after the 1707 Act of Union, and it is correct to describe him (indeed it would be foolish to do anything else) as Scottish, and as Scotland's most celebrated poet (etc) but still show his nationality - not a very important part of the article - as British. Many of his (contemporary) friends in both Scotland and England would have done the same thing. Thomas Peardew (talk) 09:25, 8 January 2020 (UTC)

This Wikipedia page is also of some relevance to 18th-century Scots and their attitudes to Britain. Thomas Peardew (talk) 09:34, 8 January 2020 (UTC)


 * I don't think I suggest it's clear cut, and the essay itself makes it clear there is no easy, one-size-fits-all, solution. The WP:UKNATIONALS essay is a long-standing essay (12 years old) that has widespread acceptance and has stood the test of time. It addresses 90% of the arguments produced on the topic and suggests pragmatic solutions to a complex subject.   But it explains that "Scottish is not a nationality" is not a valid argument for changing an article.  Unless there is a clear reason to change nationality based on new information or consensus, it should be left as is.
 * As it stands, I can safely guarantee that changing Burns nationality to British will be reverted by any number of editors. He is regarded as a Scottish icon and there is simply no consensus or reason for it.
 * (I also would never describe you as "tired and old". Even if you identify with that!  It was the "not a nationality" argument I was describing.) -- Escape Orbit  (Talk) 15:20, 8 January 2020 (UTC)

Sources / Footnotes
Footnote #4 links to a page on the Robert Burns World Federation site. According to the root of this domain, it has been superseded by the following domain, http://www.rbwf.org.uk. However, the latter domain's replacement content seem unsatisfactory as it is an MS Word *.doc document rather than an HTML page. For the latter site I tried to contact the site owner or webmaster but there is no obvious link to such so instead I posted a comment to a blog post by the organization's president. I'll report back here if there is any response to that. Perhaps we should replace this source with one that provides a more web-friendly presentation. Any comment on that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Historyfiend2000 (talk • contribs) 12:30, 22 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Good idea if you can find one. Links to Word documents are far from ideal. -- Escape Orbit  (Talk) 15:25, 22 January 2012 (UTC)

'Burnes' or 'Burness'?
Various sources (including The Burns Encyclopedia and The World Burns Club, referenced at the top of the article) claim that Burns' father, and young (pre-1786) Robert Burns, spelt their surnames 'Burnes'.

But in Burns' own First Common-Place Book, 1783-1785, as well as his Second Common-Place Book, 1785 - that is, in collections he wrote in his own hand - he spelt his surname 'Burness'.

Yet it is possible that Burns, as a young man, spelt his surname differently than did his father - as we see, for example, in the different spellings used by Burns' grandfather and uncle, on signing their names to a contract, as reported in an 1891 genealogy. This might even reflect some long-lost practice whereby children were made legally distinguishable from their possibly-same-first-named parents by some definite but relatively-insignificant difference in the spelling of their surnames - though this is only conjecture, I am not a scholar in these matters.

In any case, and in the absence of more compelling evidence, I have modified the article to change Robert 'Burnes' to Robert 'Burness' - but only for Robert; that is, I have not changed 'Burnes' where it applies to Burns' father, William.

206.248.138.250 (talk) 00:41, 25 January 2012 (UTC)


 * The source in the article clearly show Burnes. BTW edit talk page first where you reference in edits to stop confusion.Murry1975 (talk) 00:45, 25 January 2012 (UTC)


 * Hmm... yes, the article's sources show 'Burnes' - I mean, that was never in-question - but they don't cite any evidence. Other webpages - say, this account of Burns' genealogy - provide different spellings for Burns' father, grandfather, etc., but neither do they cite any evidence, so where does that get us?  OTOH, Burns' own writings support the 'Burness' spelling - and anyone can confirm this for him- or herself (follow the links, above.)  I'm sure you don't mean it this way, but it is as though you are saying that the article should conform to the sources it specifies even if the sources are wrong.  The hope of my edit/talk was to improve the accuracy of the article while inviting someone with genuine scholarship in this area to provide a more nuanced account.  In the interests of wikisanity, I will leave your reversion as-is, and leave it to you to come up with a representation that better captures the facts of the situation.


 * BTW, I'm not sure what you mean about "reference in edits to stop confusion"; perhaps you could indicate a wiki help page in which this technique is discussed, thanks.


 * 206.248.138.250 (talk) 06:40, 25 January 2012 (UTC)


 * You edited the article first, with a reference to this discussion, which was not here at the time. I checked when I saw the edit but no dicussion was here so I revert you edits. Wiki is based on verifiable sources "The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth". The source in the article if one, your source is another, why not use both. Do you know how to add references to the article? If you need a hand give me the exact reference and an outline. The ref above leads to the book which I dont have and I could only find the printed Burness.Murry1975 (talk) 06:55, 25 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Just shows me the printed form. To put the point across the sources state Burnes, yours state Burness, your assertion that the Burnes is wrong needs to be based on your sources not the fact that you believe one over the other. In the time of Burns there were many different spellings in English of ordinary words, add to the fact of Scots and Scottish English dialects and you can understand the variables of a word or name.Murry1975 (talk) 07:03, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Alison Begbie & Peggy Thomson
These 2 women are listed as having been born in 1762, but their years of death are unknown. Currently next to their names, we've got the style (b. 1762), which is used for living people, i.e. (b. YEAR). Now, I realize that readers can deduce that these women have long since departed, but we should atleast note this in the birth/death style as (1762–unknown). GoodDay (talk) 20:29, 11 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I would have to agree here. It's not noted anywhere in policy, because it doesn't really detail instances when the last period of activity is not known. Are there any books or anything that have info on these two women, so we can deduce the information on when they were last active?  Steven  Zhang  Join the DR army! 20:39, 11 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I understand the possible confusion of listing only births, but is there really any danger of people thinking they are still alive? Putting in "unknown" seems to be pointless clutter really, as when they died is not really significant.  On the other hand, when they were born allows the reader to determine their age when they met Burns, which may be notably young to modern readers.  Their "activity" is purely related to Burns, but I don't know if any further dates are known.  But again, any "last active" date doesn't really tell us anything worth knowing in the context of this article, unless it is again with Burns.
 * Would it be a good option to replace their date of births with their ages at the time? That would be getting to the most important bit without any of the needless overheads. -- Escape Orbit  (Talk) 20:55, 11 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I think that could indeed work, yes. Perhaps something like His earliest existing letters date from this time, when he began making romantic overtures to Alison Begbie, who was age at the time. In spite of four songs written for her and a suggestion that he was willing to marry her, she rejected him.
 * How does that work?  Steven  Zhang  Join the DR army! 20:57, 11 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Something like that. Just need to take care on the emphasis given and that we're not inviting the reader to infer anything from the age.  Don't want it looking like Wikipedia disproves of writing love poems to 14 year olds.  -- Escape Orbit  (Talk) 21:06, 11 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Got any ideas?  Steven  Zhang  Join the DR army! 21:18, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

Not 100% happy about it, but how about;

''By the age of 15, Burns was the principal labourer at Mount Oliphant. During the harvest of 1774 he was assisted by Nelly Kilpatrick, a coeval who inspired his first attempt at poetry, O, Once I Lov'd A Bonnie Lass. In the summer of 1775 he was sent to finish his education with a tutor at Kirkoswald, where he met Peggy Thompson, aged fourteen, for whom he wrote two songs; Now Westlin' Winds and I Dream'd I Lay.''

''To his father's disapproval, Robert joined a country dancing school in 1779 and, with Gilbert, formed the Tarbolton Bachelors' Club the following year. His earliest existing letters date from this time, when he began making romantic overtures to an eighteen year old Alison Begbie.''

Not sure about the "coeval", and I don't know if we can say for certain what the ages of Thompson or Begbie were without exact dates of events. -- Escape Orbit (Talk) 15:45, 12 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I think that works. I think that adding the fact Burns was fifteen at the time counteracts the possible disapproving issue. If in doubt with the ages, you could always use "aged around fourteen", but it's a bit messy. How much detail do we have in the references? I'm guessing there's not a lot.  Steven  Zhang  Join the DR army! 19:51, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

Why no criticism?
Interesting that there is little criticism of Burns and his works here. Perhaps because he has been sort of 'sanctified'? Are his poems really that good? Was the language he used current or anachronistic? Was it perhaps genuine but anachronistic, or was it largely, or at least somewhat, linguistically contrived, catering to an already existing commercial demand for 'Scots' nostalgia? I don't know - just asking. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.5.11.202 (talk) 09:42, 4 July 2012 (UTC)
 * There would be criticism of his work in the article if there was some criticism that could be cited from reliable sources. -- Escape Orbit (Talk) 12:14, 4 July 2012 (UTC)

Here's a useful source of info and comment 'My Bard is in the Highlands' http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/ScotLit/ASLS/SWE/TBI/TBIIssue5/Bard.html which includes: Letter published 1911: - 'The Burns craze, strange to say, has never caught on to the Highlands, despite the Celtic sympathies of the bard. Except in some of the Highland towns, like Oban, Fort William, and Inverness, where Burns Clubs have been established by aliens, the native population never thinks of the 25th of January. The Gael is not even elated with the attempts to make Burns a Gael. The poet's works are not familiar to the native Gael who does not know the Doric, and so he does not effect to drink to the "Immortal Memory." ' — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.5.2.68 (talk) 16:04, 21 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Wow! You have to go back over a hundred years to find some criticism? And even then it's anecdotal. I didn't realise that criticism of Burns was so uncommon. -- Derek Ross &#124; Talk'' 17:16, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

In any case the main thrust of the linked article is that Burns is bad because he has eclipsed Gaelic poets. This may be true but the fact is that he has eclipsed all Scottish poets whether they wrote in Gaelic, English or in Scots. Is that really a criticism? After all someone has to be the best-known. -- Derek Ross &#124; Talk'' 17:26, 21 August 2012 (UTC)


 * There still seems to be a widespread myth about Wikipedia that there exists a cupboard somewhere where elves sit and write articles all day. In fact there are no writing fairies, no special committee somewhere, no self appointed group of academics that are funded to write articles about Robert Burns. It's regular people like you and me that volunteer our time to do the research and make articles better. If Burns needs a well sourced critical section, write one. Span (talk) 18:36, 21 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Quite. Malleus Fatuorum 18:50, 21 August 2012 (UTC)


 * , Good point! -- Derek Ross &#124; Talk'' 19:34, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

Nevertheless it is an interesting observation that there is so very little modern criticism of Burns' works. He has in a sense been 'sanctified'. The most recent criticism I can come up with is from 1873 when James Murray in his 'The dialect of the southern counties of Scotland' (available on-line)analysed Burns' vocabulary and concluded that his writing was mainly made up of ordinary English words spelled phonetically i.e. as they were pronounced in parts of Scotland two hundred years ago. But I'm not even sure one could call that 'criticism' in the literary sense. Cassandra

Advertisement
At the top of the article is written HARPO PIZZA. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.15.20.158 (talk) 17:41, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Big Burns Supper Festival
In 2011, as part of the Year of Creative Scotland - a new festival was born in Dumfries which celebrates Robert Burns and the Burns Supper, and promotes Burns, his work and his spirit throughout the world. Now the World's Biggest Burns Supper - the festival continues to re-energise the celebration by creating a three day festival which uses the unique location of Dumfries to create a modern celebration which is about the coming together at a Supper rather than the patronising of a poet.

Artist's who have helped celebrate include Eddi Reader, Dougie McLean and Deacon Blue

Bigburnssupper (talk) 09:09, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 9 January 2014 re Jean REDPATH's 7 volume recordings of the Songs of Robert Burns
In the section on "Musical Tributes" there is no mention of Jean Redpath's 7 volume recording, Songs of Robert Burns, which is still in print. There's a wiki page for Jean Redpath from which the following text was copied pasted:

"In 1976 Jean Redpath embarked on a project to record all the songs of Robert Burns, some being folk songs, some Burns's own compositions, and most a mixture of the two. Twenty-two volumes were planned, but when her collaborator, the composer Serge Hovey, died after seven volumes, the project came to a premature end. Hovey had done the instrumental arrangements for 323 songs, and Redpath felt that no other musician could replace him. The albums won critical praise from around the world."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Redpath

The Jean Redpath website includes a bio sketch and discography http://www.jeanredpath.com

216.164.63.138 (talk) 23:01, 9 January 2014 (UTC)


 * ✅ Thanks for pointing that out - I've précised the text, as this page is about Burns and not Redpath, and also added her recordings for the Scots Musical Museum. Arjayay (talk) 16:05, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Robert Burns
Your Burns history is inadequate - no mention of Robert Aiken of Ayr who features extensively in his poems as his first patron before Gavin Hamilton of Ayr

See http://www.robertburns.org/encyclopedia/AikenRobert1739-1807.35.shtml

Sincerely, David Akenhead  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.163.202.196 (talk) 15:54, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

Address to the toothache
Robert Burns seems to feature prominently on this article now: toothache. Anyway, there is an image and some content there that might also be used on this page if the authors' so wished. Regards, Lesion  16:32, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

John Anderson
Why is there no mention of "John Anderson, my jo" in the article? It one of his famous poems/songs.--Lpdte77 (talk) 07:35, 7 October 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 23 January 2015


176.227.133.185 (talk) 20:46, 23 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: He actually has been, please refer to the citation for the purpose of verification. Anupmehra  - Let's talk!  21:09, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Robert Burns statues are placed with his back towards the church
In the article Centenary Place it states "Traditionally, statues of Robert Burns are placed so that the poet's back is turned on the church". Is this true? And are there any sources for this fact and the reasons for it? (The current source is the Queensland Heritage Register, which isn't exactly an authority on Robert Burns and his statues). Kerry (talk) 22:06, 10 February 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 June 2015
Hi, We are hoping to get the following information inserted on this page under the Landmarks and Organisations section of your page. Camperdown, Victoria, Australia is home to one of the oldest Robert burns Statues. Created in Scotland in 1830, the statue is the only one to have been based exclusively on the earliest known portrait of Burns. Early Western District settler W.A. Taylor gifted the statue to the community of Camperdown in 1883 where it was placed in the Camperdown Public Park (Botanic Gardens). It remained here for more than 125 years. The statue was already in need of restoration when in 2009, it was vandalised. Following the attack the statue was moved to a secure location at the Corangamite Shire Civic Centre so that its restoration and future protection could be assured. Camperdown now hosts an annual Robert Burns Scottish Festival in celebration of the staue and its history. Regards Clare Dunn clare.dunn@corangamite.vic.gov.au

139.130.59.242 (talk) 04:27, 10 June 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done Stickee (talk) 23:46, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 January 2016
thumbnail|right|Burns statue in Treasury Gardens, Melbourne. Popular lunch time attraction.

Please is it possible to add under Heading "Landmarks and organisations"

Sculptor George Anderson Lawson’s best-known work is a statue of Robert Burns that stands at Ayr, in Scotland. A replica of this statue was cast in London for the City of Melbourne, and was erected in 1904 at a cost of around £1000 with the support of the Caledonian Society. It is claimed that nearly every Scot in Melbourne contributed towards funding the memorial.

The Burns statue in Melbourne is described as an “imposing, larger than life-size figure depicted in tails and breeches, his posture and countenance suggesting a powerful spirit.” It was originally located on the west side of St Kilda Road, where it was unveiled on January 23, 1904, just in time for Burns Night. The statue was moved to its current site at the Treasury Gardens along Spring Street in Melbourne in 1970, and remains a popular attraction for the Victorian Scottish community.

Heyrelax (talk) 06:15, 11 January 2016 (UTC)


 * ✅. Be prosperous!  Paine   22:12, 31 January 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 4 one external links on Robert Burns. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080821043936/http://www.greenock-town.co.uk/highland_mary.html to http://www.greenock-town.co.uk/highland_mary.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100216222303/http://www.scotland.org:80/about/history-tradition-and-roots/features/culture/burns-and-slavery.html to http://www.scotland.org/about/history-tradition-and-roots/features/culture/burns-and-slavery.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20041211055558/http://www.standrews.com:80/burns/HERALDWRITINGS/feature30.html to http://www.standrews.com/burns/HERALDWRITINGS/feature30.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20090415073320/http://www.royalmint.com:80/store/BritishBase/UKREBBU.aspx to http://www.royalmint.com/store/BritishBase/UKREBBU.aspx

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Stick to sources!  Paine  21:00, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner:Online 20:52, 26 January 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 January 2016
External link - video of the Address to the Haggis at a Burns Supper: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MqmM2JPW4aI&feature=youtu.be

137.69.117.208 (talk) 23:50, 26 January 2016 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. Thank you for your interest!  Unfortunately, there is already an abundance of external links in this article.  Be prosperous!  Paine   22:32, 31 January 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Robert Burns. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20041211055558/http://www.standrews.com:80/burns/HERALDWRITINGS/feature30.html to http://www.standrews.com/burns/HERALDWRITINGS/feature30.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Stick to sources!  Paine  21:01, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner:Online 12:07, 24 February 2016 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 04:34, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 April 2018
Please add that Robert Burns was also known as Robin by his family and as Robbie by his wife. He is only known as Rabbie today as a modern renaming. 2A00:23C1:2C6C:3D00:957F:2855:32BD:B051 (talk) 12:49, 14 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. L293D (☎</b> • <b style="color:#000">✎</b>) 13:51, 14 April 2018 (UTC)

"Customs & Excise"
Customs & Excise were formed by the merger of the separate Customs and Excise departments in 1905. Burns would have been a member of the Excise. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.8.165.235 (talk) 14:43, 16 May 2018 (UTC)

Newspaper-Robert Burns
Newspaper article on RB in The Times Wednesday 13 June 2018 p.3. How could or should this be referred to? (sorry ending with a preposition) Osborne 16:12, 13 June 2018 (UTC)

Jean Armour
Christ's Hospital by G.A.T. Allen (revised edition, 1984) records that one of Burns's children by Jean Armour was educated at Christ's Hospital school in London. The entry on page 88 of the book, based on the school's admissions records, is frustratingly brief, giving neither the name of the child nor the date, though from the reference to a record of the Kirk Session of Mauchline in 1788 the child will have been admitted in or after this year. In other words, the boy might have been any of Jean's three surviving children by Burns. The child would thus have been a school contemporary of Charles Lamb, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Leigh Hunt. (I have added a link to the Jean Armour Wikipedia entry). Thomas Peardew (talk) 19:32, 25 January 2019 (UTC)
 * The child was his penultimate son, James Glencairn Burns, born in 1794, and he was admitted to Christ's Hospital in April 1802. I am not sure if the following link will work. -Link to PDF document, James Glencairn Burns- Thomas Peardew (talk) 21:18, 25 January 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 May 2019
the masonic lodge (definite article needed) 109.155.92.185 (talk) 09:06, 7 May 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done <b style="color:black">Nici</b><b style="color:purple">Vampire</b><b style="color:black">Heart</b> 10:14, 7 May 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 2 November 2019
Robert Hunter (1941-2019), lyricist for the Grateful Dead and songwriting partner of the late Jerry Garcia, was a great-great grandson of the poet Burns, and had the birth name Robert Burns (acquiring the surname Hunter through his mother's remarriage). In addition to his work with the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and other musical acts, Hunter was known for his translations of Rainer Maria Rilke's "Sonnets to Orpheus" and "The Duino Elegies." Perry, Charles (November 22, 1973). "A New Life for the Dead: Grateful Dead Handle Their Business". Rolling Stone. / Somewhereinthecity (talk) 05:29, 2 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. MadGuy7023 (talk) 15:45, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

Political feelings and influence on socialism
This is hinted at in the opening paragraph. But then there is no follow up on these points. I feel if this is important enough to be mentioned in the introductory section, it should be elaborated on further in the article. I hope someone with the knowledge and resources will do so in the near future. Deliusfan (talk) 21:39, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 May 2022
There's a malformed link what needs fixing. Currently: Should be: Note the missing space 2600:1700:DA90:2AB0:4CC4:1E77:D791:DBAE (talk) 18:11, 11 May 2022 (UTC)
 * ✅ — CAPTAIN JTK (talk) 18:50, 11 May 2022 (UTC)

Relationships and Family
Given his numerous dalliances, it may be helpful to add a section detailing his legitimate and illegitimate children's names, dates of birth/death, and by which partner. It seems he had three daughters named Elizabeth, but I believe only one was mentioned in the text of the article, and another's See Also link redirects to Robert Burns's page. 74.136.109.247 (talk) 21:22, 18 May 2022 (UTC)

Using language like "bore him nine children" is sexist language making the woman a vessel of "giving" a man children and that the children "belong" to him. Less sexist language would be "she had nine children with him". Please change this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2607:F470:A:8:ECE3:3AD:2715:46CF (talk) 19:02, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 November 2022
Toward the end of the Lyricist section, the poem "Parcel of Rogues to the Nation" should be changed to "Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation". Thanks! Cschoolland (talk) 18:06, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 August 2023
On the main Robert Burns page under Dumfrieshire and also the Ellisland page, the marriage date between Robbie and Jean contradicts others elsewhere which is given as 5th August. I've always believed that they got officially married in August after Jean gave birth to twins in March.

"On his return from Edinburgh in February 1788, he resumed his relationship with Jean Armour and they married in March 1788". Easymalc (talk) 07:38, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. --Pinchme123 (talk) 15:27, 7 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia Page - Robert Burns > Ellisland Farm
 * On his return from Edinburgh in February 1788, he resumed his relationship with Jean Armour and they married in March 1788. I believe it should read -
 * On his return from Edinburgh in February 1788, he resumed his relationship with Jean Armour and they married on 5th August 1788
 * See Wikipedia Page - Jean Armour .Biography
 * Although their marriage was registered on 5 August 1788 in Mauchline, the parish records describe them as having been "irregularly married some years ago". Easymalc (talk) 03:24, 8 August 2023 (UTC)