Mary Campbell (Highland Mary)
Lover of Robert Burns / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the statue dedicated to Highland Mary, see Highland Mary (statue).
Mary Campbell, also known as Highland Mary[3] (christened Margaret, March 1763[1] – 1786), was the daughter of Archibald Campbell of Daling, a sailor in a revenue cutter,[4] whose wife was Agnes Campbell of Achnamore or Auchamore. Mary was the eldest of a family of four. Robert Burns had an affair with her after he felt that he had been "deserted" by Jean Armour following her move to Paisley in March 1786. The brief affair started in April 1786, and the parting took place on 14 May of that year.[1] Mary's pronunciation of English was heavily accented with the lilt of local indigenous language, Gaelic - and this led to her becoming known as 'Highland Mary.'[5]