Robert Burns died this day in 1796 He was also known as Robbie Burns,[1] Rabbie Burns,Scotland's favorite son, the Ploughman Poet, Robden of Solway Firth, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as The Bard) was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a light Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest.

He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish Diaspora around the world. Celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature. In 2009 he was chosen as the greatest Scot by the Scottish public in a vote run by Scottish television channel STV.

As well as making original compositions, Burns also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. His poem (and song) "Auld Lang Syne" is often sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year), and "Scots Wha Hae" served for a long time as an unofficial anthem of the country. Other poems and songs of Burns that remain well known across the world today include "A Red, Red Rose"; "A Man's a Man for A' That"; "To a Louse"; "To a Mouse"; "The Battle of Sherramuir"; "Tam o' Shanter"; and "Ae Fond Kiss". He was a member of Saint David’s Lodge #2174 in Tarbolton, Scotland

On this date in 1758, the Grand Lodge of Scotland granted a charter to Fredericksburg Lodge in Virginia, the lodge that had conferred the Masonic degrees on George Washington in 1752 and 1753.

John James Duncan jr. (Jimmy) was born in Lebanon, Tennessee on July 21, 1947. His "paternal grandparents were small farmers in Scott County, which in 1861 left Tennessee, refusing to follow the Volunteer State into the Confederacy, and declared itself 'the Free and Independent state of Scott. ] Duncan's parents were Lois (Swisher) and John Duncan, Sr., who "hitchhiked into Knoxville with five dollars in his pocket,' and after an education at the University of Tennessee was elected mayor of Knoxville and then congressman." The elder Duncan was also a co-owner of the Knoxville Smokies of the "Sally League," for which his son "was a batboy, a ball shagger, scoreboard operator, and, as a freshman at the University of Tennessee, the Smokies’ public-address announcer." Duncan also worked as a grocery bagger and salesman at Sears while working his way though school. Duncan supported Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign, and sent the first paycheck he earned as a bagboy at the local Atlantic and Pacific (A&P) Grocery Store to the Barry Goldwater presidential campaign.
Duncan graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1969 with a Bachelor of Journalism degree and subsequently received a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1973 and was admitted to the bar that same year. He also served in the Army National Guard from 1970 to 1987. He was an attorney in private practice until he became a state court judge in Knox County, Tennessee, where he served from 1981 to 1988.
The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law in Knoxville, TN was named after John James (Jimmy) Duncan jr. He is a member of Charles H. McKinney Lodge #433 F&AM in Knoxville, Tennessee. He received his Entered Apprentices Degree on May 08, 1975, his Fellow Crafts Degree on August 21, 1975, and he was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on September 25, 1975. He is presently serving as the Congressman for the 2nd Congressional District of Tennessee.