John W. Burton was born on March 2, 1915 in
Melbourne, Australia. He was educated at Newington College,
Sydney, the University of Sydney, and the London School of Economics.
Burton's early career was marked with academic as well as diplomatic
success. He was part of the Australian delegation sent to San
Francisco after World War II to set up the United Nations. He
became the youngest Permanent Secretary of the Australian Diplomatic
Service and was appointed High Commissioner in Ceylon, but resigned
to seek elected office.
In 1954 Burton's career focused increasingly on
academics. During this time he published his first book on foreign
policy titled The Alternative. In 1963, he moved to England
to teach at the International Relations Program at University College,
London, where the Centre for the Analysis of Conflict was originally
set up. Over the next twenty years, Burton published many books
on the subject of diplomacy and conflict resolution.
Burton and the original Centre for the Analysis
of Conflict moved to the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1979
where he remained until 1981. He then moved to the University
of South Carolina where he was awarded an International Studies Association
Fellowship. After a brief but productive period at the University
of Maryland, Burton was persuaded to join George Mason University
to help in the development of a new Centre for Conflict Analysis and
Resolution, now known as the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
(ICAR).
The John W. Burton Collection contains materials
including correspondence, working papers, notes, newsclippings, and
scholarly publications. The collection is 6 cubic feet or 9 linear
feet.
Special Collections
& Archives (SC&A) preserves and makes available to
all students, faculty, and researchers many kinds of original and
scholarly materials. Subject areas in SC&A include Northern Virginiana,
Planned Communities, Congressional Papers, Performing Arts, Maps,
the Civil War, and George Mason University. Formats in SC&A include
manuscripts, rare books, playbills, musical scores, audio and videotapes,
architectural drawings, photographs, and slides.
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Search
the John Burton Collection Finding Aid
Institute for Conflict Analysis
and Resolution (ICAR)
