William Burton (December 25, 1888 – October 16, 1944) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician who served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, from 1928 to 1929. During the First World War, he served as an officer in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

Early life

Born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Burton trained and qualified as a surveyor and architect. He emigrated to Hamilton, Canada, in 1907.

Career

He subsequently established the Burton Coal Company. Enlisting in the 120th City of Hamilton Battalion upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he became the first private in his unit to be commissioned, and rose to the rank of captain. He later joined the 2nd Battalion of the

Royal Hamilton Light Infantry The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) (RHLI) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army, based at John Weir Foote VC Armoury in Hamilton, Ontario. The RHLI is part of 31 Canadian Brigade Group, which is part of 4t ...

. In 1924, he was elected as the alderman for Ward 6. He was re-elected to that post in 1925. He served the following two years on the Board of Control. In December 1927, Burton was elected mayor with one of the largest majorities ever achieved by a mayoral candidate in Hamilton in a two-way race. His victory over long-time board of control member Calvin Davis, following only one week of campaigning, was widely regarded as an "upset". The following year, he was returned to office uncontested. He served as mayor of Hamilton in 1928 and 1929. During his second year in office, he supported a program to employ war veterans who were amputees as school traffic officers.

Personal life and death

Burton was elected president of the Victoria Curling Club in March 1944. He died on October 16 of that year in the Hamilton General Hospital. He was a member of the choir at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Westdale. Prior to that, he had been a member of the Church of St. Thomas for many years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, William 1888 births 1944 deaths Mayors of Hamilton, Ontario Politicians from Derby 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario