On this day in history - James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, died

Scottish poet James Hogg, the 'Ettrick Shepherd', died on 21 November 1835. Hogg was born in Ettrick, the son of a tenant farmer father and a mother who collected Scottish ballads.

Hogg taught himself to read and write thanks to the support of his employer James Laidlaw of Blackhouse, who made his extensive library available to him.

Hogg became well-known for his pastoral works such as The Forest Minstrel and Mador of the Moor, and is the author of Confessions of a Justified Sinner, one of the earliest pieces of modern Scottish fiction.

James Hogg timeline

• c11 December 1770 - born in Ettrick
• 1788 - Began work as a shepherd
• 1790 - Worked for James Laidlaw of Blackhouse - who allowed use of his library
• 1807 - Hogg's first poem collection The Mountain Bard published
• 1813 - Published The Queen's Wake about Mary Queen of Scots
• 28 April 1820 - Married Margaret Phillips
• 1824 - Published The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
• 1834 - Published Familiar Anecdotes of Sir Walter Scott
• 21 November 1835 - Death of James Hogg