Sir Walter Scott was born August 15, 1771, in Edinburgh, Scotland, as the ninth child (and the fourth surviving) of Walter Scott, a solicitor, and his wife Anne Rutherford. Polio, contracted when he was two, resulted in a crippled left leg, but even this illness did not prevent Scott from growing into a tall and energetic man.Raised on the old Border tales and ballads that would later influence his historical novels, Scott was a clever and active child. Unfortunately, poor health interrupted ...[Read Story]