Robert Burns, the son of a small farmer in Ayrshire, was born on the 25th of January, 1759. His parents were poor, so Burns did not get a good education. He worked hard as a ploughboy. He was fond of reading and always had a ballad book before him at dinner. After the death of his father Robert and his brother and sisters took over the farm together. Working in the fields Burns wrote many wonderful songs. However, things became so bad on the farm, that the poet decided to go to Jamaica hoping to get a job on a plantation there. Luckily some friends helped Burns to publish a book of poems. The book was noticed and praised highly. In 1786 Burns went to Edinburgh, and his book of poems unlocked the doors of rich Edinburgh houses to a peasant with such a wonderful talent. In 1788 he married Jean Armour and spent a peaceful and happy year. The rest of his life story is a tale of the poet’s hardships. The hard life ruined the poet’s health, and on the 21st of July, 1796, he died at the age of thirty-seven.