Burns (ANTHONY a fugitive slave born)
ANTHONY, a fugitive slave, born in Virginia in 1836; arrested in Boston in 1854, under the Fugitive Slave Law. An indignation meeting, in which Theodore Parker and Wendell Phillips participated, was held in Faneuil Hall, while a premature and unsuccessful attempt to rescue Burns under the leadership of Thomas W. Higginson resulted in bloodshed and the death of one of the deputies. When the courts decided that the extradition was legal, Burns was escorted by a strong guard to a revenue cutter, and a riot was barely averted. Burns afterward regained his liberty, studied at Oberlin College, and became a Baptist minister in Canada. He died in St. Catharines, Canada, July 27, 1862.
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Burns (JOHN an English labor)
JOHN, an English labor organizer and Socialist leader, born in London in 1858. He was of humble birth and became a factory boy at the age of 10. He was an omnivorous reader and imbibed his Socialistic views from a French fellow employee. By working a year as engineer on the Niger river, he earned enough for a six months' tour of Europe. He constantly addressed audiences of workingmen, and was a persistent labor abor agitator. He was one of the leaders in the West End riot in London, February, 1887, and was imprisoned the same year for maintaining the right of public meeting in Trafalgar Square. As an arbitrator, he is respected by employers and employed. He has been thrice elected to the London County Council and has sat in the House of Commons since 1892. He was president of the Local Government Board (1905-1914). In 1914 he became president of the Board of Trade and resigned later in the year because of differences on the conduct of the war.
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Burnside
AMBROSE EVERETT, an American military officer, born in Liberty, Ind., May 23, 1824; he gradufrom West Point in 1847. He the army as First Lieutenant, in 1852, in 1861, commanded a brigade at Bull Run, and, in February, 1862, captured Roanoke Island. Having rendered important services at South Mountain and Antietam, he, in November, reluctantly superseded General McClellan. On December 13, he crossed the Rappahannock, and attacked General Lee near Fredericksburg, but was repulsed with a loss of over 10,000 men, and was soon after transferred to the Department of Ohio. In November, 1863, he successfully held Knoxville against a superior force, and, in 1864, he led a corps, under General Grant, through the battles of the Wilderness and Cold Harbor. Resigning in April, 1865, he was elected Governor of Rhode Island (1866-1868), and United States Senator in 1875 and 1881. He died in Bristol, R. I., Sept. 13, 1881.
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Burnside, Ambrose E.
Ambrose E. (1824-1881), an American soldier. He was born at Liberty, Indiana, and was educated at West Point . In the Civil War he was at Bull Run , South Mountain, and Antietam. In the autumn of 1862 he was appointed to supersede General McClellan in command of the Army of the Potomac. December 13th he was worsted by General Lee, and lost 10,000 men in the battle of Fredericksburg. Restored to a subordinate position, he fought with Grant at the Wilderness and Cold Harbor. After the war he was elected governor of Rhode Island and served that state in the United States Senate. 2026 Editor's Note: Burnside's luckless generalship is remembered, but his whiskers are immortal. His dramatic side-whiskers-and-moustache were so distinctive that the style was named "burnsides," and then, by a slip of the tongue that stuck, reversed into "sideburns" — the word every barber uses today. He later served as governor, senator, and first president of the National Rifle Association. (Ed: BR 2026-07-13)
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Burr
GEORGE WASHINGTON, an American soldier, born in Tolono, Ill., in 1865. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1888 and the same year was appointed first lieutenant of the artillery. He rose to various grades, reaching that of temporary brigadier-general in 1918. In the following year he was appointed majorgeneral. He served as instructor in several military colleges and in the Philippines, where for a time he was chief ordnance officer of the Philippines Division. He was appointed chief ordnance officer of the Central Department in 1911, serving until 1918. In the latter year, he became chief ordnance officer for the American forces in England. In October of that year he was appointed chief of the engineering division of the Ordnance Department, and later became assistant director of the purchase, storage, and traffic departments of the General Staff. He was a member of the War Department Claims Board from January, 1919.
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Burrard Inlet
an inlet of British Columbia, forming a fine harbor and having Vancouver, the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, on its southern shore.
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Burrillville
a town of Rhode Island, in Providence co., on the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroad. Its chief industry is the manufacture of woolen goods. Wallum Lake, near the city, is a favorite summer resort. Pop. (1910) 7,878; (1920) 8,606.
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Burritt
ELIHU, an American author, called the "Learned Blacksmith," born in New Britain, Conn., Dec. 8, 1811. He was a blacksmith, linguist, lecturer, reformer and a noted advocate of peace. His books include "Sparks from the Anvil" (1848) "Olive live Leaves" (1853); and "Chips from Many Blocks" (1878). See Charles Northend's "Life of Elihu Burritt" (New York, 1879). He died in New Britain, March 7, 1879.
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Burritt, Elihu
Elihu (1811-1879), a New England reformer. A native of New Britain, Connecticut. He was the son of a shoemaker and learned the blacksmith's trade. An ambition to read the Scripture in the original tongues in which they were written led to prolonged study on his part, gaining for him the nickname of "The Learned Blacksmith." He removed his blacksmith shop to Worcester to be near a good library. In 1846 he began to travel and lecture. He visited England and founded a society with a view to suppress warfare throughout the world. Mr. Burritt was an earnest advocate of a "High Court of Nations," an idea that has taken form in the Hague Tribunal. He also took hold of cheap postage as a means of increasing intelligence. He became an apostle of temperance as well as an antislavery writer and speaker. One of his books is entitled Sparks from the Anvil. 2026 Editor's Note: "The Learned Blacksmith" taught himself dozens of languages at the forge, and put the learning to a cause: he organized international peace congresses in the 1840s and 50s, campaigned for cheap ocean postage to knit nations together, and proposed a "Congress of Nations" — an idea that would wait a century for the United Nations. (Ed: BR 2026-07-07)
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