Robert Burton is known for The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), a lengthy treatise on the causes and treatment of melancholy that became one of the most popular English books of the early seventeenth century. The primary source of information about Burton's life is Anthony à Wood's brief sketch in the 1721 edition of his Athenae Oxonienses; additional, if minimal, biographical information is supplied by The Anatomy of Melancholy itself, when Burton reveals details about his family and education.

The fourth of nine children, Burton was born to Ralph and Dorothy Faunt Burton at their family home, Lindley Hall, Leicestershire, on 8 February 1577. Wood characterizes the Burtons as "an ancient and genteel Family." Ralph Burton was interested in genealogy and medical remedies, and in The Anatomy of Melancholy Burton records that his mother had "excellent skill in Surgery, sore eyes, aches &c ... as all the country where shee dwelt can witness." William...