By Jason Webber, Web Archive Engagement Manager, British Library

Born on 25 January 1759, Robert ‘Rabbie’ Burns, sometimes known as the ‘National Bard’, the ‘Bard of Ayrshire’ and the ‘Ploughman Poet’, is rightly famous for his poetry in the Scots dialect. Burns’ legacy remains strong into the digital age and his work has been widely collected and can be seen in the UK Web Archive.

This fantastic AHRC funded project ‘Editing Robert Burns’ aims to produce a multi-edition volume of his work. If you like a pun you can’t help but smile at ‘Daylight Rabbery: The Story of ‘Antique Smith’s’ Robert Burns Forgeries’.

Did you know that famous Greenwich landmark, and former tea clipper, ‘Cutty Sark’ gets its name from the Robert Burns poem ‘Tam o’shanter’?

But Tam kend what was what fu' brawlie:
There was ae winsome wench and waulie,
That night enlisted in the core,
Lang after ken'd on Carrick shore;
(For mony a beast to dead she shot,
And perish'd mony a bonie boat,
And shook baith meikle corn and bear,
And kept the country-side in fear.)
Her cutty-sark, o' Paisley harn
That while a lassie she had worn,

Burns makes a more direct influence into the 21st century with ‘Rabbie Burns Saves the World: an 8 Bit Game’. Play the game here.

Do you know any online Robert Burns resources? We would love to include any in the UK Web Archive. Nominate any UK website here: www.webarchive.org.uk/nominate

Do also check out our ‘Poetry Zines and Journals’ collection.

Happy Burns Night!