Tales of the Month
Monthly tales from the city's archives.
Jan 25, 2012
Edinburgh’s first Burns Supper?
On 25 January 1816 the first public celebration of the birthday of the poet Robert Burns was held in the rooms of D. McEwan, a vintner within the Royal Exchange Coffeehouse, (now part of the City Chambers) when:
‘one hundred gentlemen dined under the chairmanship of Mr. Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck.’
One of those gentlemen was Mr. Walter Scott and the company resolved to have a public celebration of the poet’s birthday in Edinburgh every three years.
EWH are grateful for permission to use this extract from “The Edinburgh Book of Days” by Michael T.R.B. Turnbull, published by The History Press.
http://bit.ly/nxNKIh (www.thehistorypress.co.uk)
More tales from Edinburgh’s archives will appear in February.
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