Robert Burns

Rabbie Burns! Bonnie Scotland's favourite poet; Bard of Ayrshire; author of a poem called "Address To A Haggis". Yes, really.

Even if you haven't heard of him, you've heard some of his stuff; he's one of those guys whose works have dissolved into collective memory. Unofficial New Year's Eve song "Auld Lang Syne" is his. He also wrote "To A Mouse", a line of which was pressed into service for John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. Another of his poems, "To A Louse", gave us the proverb "O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us!"

Even Scots who don't need an excuse to get pissed celebrate Burns Night: His birthday, 25 January. The celebrations involve bringing the haggis in and reciting part of its poem (it's a really long poem) before cutting it open.