Burns Club Atlanta Burns Club of Atlanta is fifty-third in seniority among several hundred organizations recognized by the Scottish-based World Burns Federation. Officially organized on January 25, 1896, the centennial year of Robert Burns’ birth, the Burns Club of Atlanta is quite possibly the city’s oldest surviving cultural and literary society. As early as the 1870s, Burns admirers in Atlanta had been meeting in private homes and hotels to celebrate the birthday of the Scottish poet. Shortly after the club’s formation, plans were made to construct for a clubhouse an exact replica of Robert Burns' birthplace in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland. Situated in the
Benjamin Burns Benjamin Burns Benjamin Henry Burns (28 May 1848 – 3 June 1932) was a Scottish rugby union footballer who represented England in the first international match against Scotland in 1871. Burns was a member of Blackheath F.C. during his early twenties, and in late 1870, along with Edwin Ash, he published a letter in "The Times" calling for "those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play." Such a meeting took place the following month, leading to the