William A. M. Burden Sr.
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William Armistead Moale Burden Sr. (July 11, 1877 – February 2, 1909) was an American football guard for the
Harvard Crimson football The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Harvard's football program is one ...
team and stock broker.


Early life

Burden was born on July 11, 1877 in
Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...
to millionaire iron manufacturer I. Townsend Burden and Evelyn Byrd (Moale) Burden. He attended
Groton School Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...
where he was a member of the school's football team. In 1895, he succeeded
Percy Haughton Percy Duncan Haughton (July 11, 1876 – October 27, 1924) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as head football coach at Cornell University from 1899 to 1900, at Harvard University from 1908 to 1916, and at Columbia ...
as team captain.


Harvard

Burden played on the Harvard freshman football team in 1896. The following season he became the backup center on the varsity team. In 1898 he became a starting guard and in 1899 was the team captain. Following his senior season, Burden was named a second-team All-American by the ''
New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...
'' and ''
Outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBTQ person's sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia, biphobia, and/or transphobia Transphobia consists ...
'' and a third-team All-American by
Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...
. Outside of football, Burden was first marshall and president of his class as well as president of the
Hasty Pudding Hasty pudding is a pudding or porridge of grains cooked in milk or water. In the United States, it often refers specifically to a version made primarily with ground ("Indian") corn, and it is most known for being mentioned in the lyrics of "Yanke ...
and Groton clubs. Burden graduated from Harvard in 1900.


Career

Immediately after leaving school, Burden, Francis Lee Higginson, John L. Saltonstall, and Augustus Jay took a trip around the world. He eventually returned to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where he worked for James D. Smith & Co. On August 19, 1903, he purchased a seat on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
from Henry G. Weil for $60,000. On October 1, 1907, Burden retired as a floor member of James D. Smith & Co. due to ill health. He was sent abroad to recover, however his health did not improve.


Personal life

On April 12, 1904, he married Florence Vanderbilt Twombly, daughter of
Hamilton McKown Twombly Hamilton McKown Twombly Sr. (August 11, 1849 – January 11, 1910) was an American businessman. Early life Hamilton McKown Twombly Sr. was born on August 11, 1849, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and grew up in Boston. His parents were Alexa ...
and Florence Vanderbilt Twombly and a granddaughter of
William Henry Vanderbilt William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman Known as "Billy", he was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbil ...
, at Saint Thomas Church in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. The couple had two sons, William A. M. Burden Jr. (who became the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium) and Shirley Carter Burden (who became a prominent photographer). On December 2, 1908, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that his unknown illness had gotten worse and he had been bedridden for several months. Doctors were unable to diagnose or treat Burden's illness, which was described by ''The New York Times'' as a "chronic recurrent fever" that "attacks the patient suddenly...if he recovers, the only thing to do is prepare him for the next attack, which is sure to come". He died on February 2, 1909, aged 31, at his home in Manhattan.


Legacy

In 1971, Burden's widow and sons donated Burden Hall to
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
in honor of him and his grandson, William A. M. Burden III, who also died young.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burden, Sr., William A. M. 1877 births 1909 deaths American stockbrokers Harvard College alumni Harvard Crimson football players Sportspeople from Manhattan Businesspeople from Troy, New York Players of American football from New York (state) 19th-century American businesspeople Burden family