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John A. Burns | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2ndGovernor of Hawaii | |
| In office December 3, 1962 – December 2, 1974 On leave: October 17, 1973 – December 2, 1974 | |
| Lieutenant | William S. Richardson Andrew T. F. Ing Thomas Gill George Ariyoshi |
| Preceded by | William F. Quinn |
| Succeeded by | George Ariyoshi |
| Delegate to theU.S. House of Representatives fromHawaii'sat-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1957 – August 21, 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth Farrington |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Inouye (U.S. Representative) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Anthony Burns (1909-03-30)March 30, 1909 Fort Assinniboine, Montana, U.S. |
| Died | April 5, 1975(1975-04-05) (aged 66) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Resting place | National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Hawaii, Manoa (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1927–1928 |
John Anthony Burns (March 30, 1909 – April 5, 1975) was an American politician. Burns was born in Montana and became a resident of Hawaii in 1913. He served as the secondgovernor of Hawaii from 1962 to 1974.
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John Burns was born inFort Assinniboine, Montana, on March 30, 1909. He was the eldest son of Anne and Harry Burns. Christened Harry John Burns, as a teenager he changed his name to John Anthony Burns.
Burns's father was in the army and was ordered toFort Shafter in Hawaii, so in 1913 he and his family moved to Hawaii, and eventually toKalihi. Harry Burns became overwhelmed with responsibility for four children and left the family in 1919. Burns's mother became a launderer forTripler Army Medical Center. Burns took care of his siblings and attendedSaint Louis School, while his mother worked. She joined the Postal Service, and with the help of her brother, became postmaster for Fort Shafter and a clerk at the Honolulu Post office. In 1925 Anne sent John to live with her brother in Kansas, where Jack Scally served as a father figure. In Kansas he attendedImmaculata High School inLeavenworth, then transferred to St. Benedict High School (nowMaur Hill – Mount Academy) inAtchison.
In 1927 Burns dropped out of high school and joined the army, but did not like taking orders. He was honorably discharged after one year. Burns returned to Hawaii, waiting a semester to attend Saint Louis School and eventually graduate in 1930.
Burns's work as a police officer helped him build close ties with working class people from numerous ethnic groups, notably Japanese and native Hawaiians. While a police officer in Honolulu, his first political efforts arose from his work with the Police Benevolent Society. From 1948 he led theHawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954, through various leadership positions in the territorial Democratic Party, culminating in being chair of the territorial party in 1952. He is credited with building a coalition for the Democratic Party that included theCommunist Party,442nd Regimental Combat Team veterans,ILWU, other organized labor groups, and Japanese Americans to strengthen the party.[1] In 1956, he was elected a party delegate from Hawaii. As a delegate, Burns played a key role in lobbying for Hawaii statehood, a goal that was achieved on March 12, 1959, when the statehood bill was signed by PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower. He sought to become the first governor of the newly formed state, but lost the election to Territorial GovernorWilliam F. Quinn.
Three years later in 1962, Burns won the election to become governor. Governor Burns played a leading role in stimulating the state economy and attracting foreign tourism and investment. His many achievements include the promotion of Hawaii as a center for oceanography, construction of the new State Capitol building, and expansion of theUniversity of Hawaiʻi, helping to transform it into a first-class university, attracting students and faculty from around the world and early planning for the construction of theAloha Stadium to host university football and bowl games. Burns supported the construction of an expandedHonolulu International Airport with a new reef-runway and the construction ofInterstate H-3.
Additionally, he supported planning for the future by establishing the Hawaii Commission on the Year 2000, which ultimately led to the development of theQuality Growth Policy for the State of Hawaii. Both the Commission on the Year 2000 and Hawaii'sQuality Growth Policy were intended to supplement Hawaii's State Land-Use Plan. Finally, Governor Burns made Hawaii a leader in environmental management, establishing the Office of Environmental Quality Control, within the Governor's Office, to coordinate state environmental policy and to reviewenvironmental impact statements on all major state actions.
Burns was re-elected in 1966 and 1970, each time with a differentlieutenant governor as hisrunning mate. In 1966, he was elected governor with Lieutenant GovernorThomas Gill. During his term as lieutenant governor, Gill, considered outspoken and acerbic, developed differences with Burns, and was never shy about criticizing the incumbent, despite being part of his administration. In 1970, Gill challenged Burns in the Democratic primary. Gill ran as a reformer, campaigning against what he described as an entrenched, corrupt political machine. He narrowly lost, even though Burns significantly outspent him in a savvy campaign that included sophisticated use of expensive image-building television spots. Most in the state's large Japanese population remained loyal to Burns, who had spearheaded their rise to political power during the 1950s. BeforeNeil Abercrombie lost in 2014 this race stood as the closest anyone came to a primary defeat of an incumbent governor of Hawaii.[2] Burns's running-mate in 1970,George Ariyoshi, ran to succeed Burns as governor in 1974, defeating Gill in the Democratic primary.
Burns became ill from cancer to the point of incapacity in October 1973. Burns's third elected lieutenant governor,George Ariyoshi, becameacting governor through the end of Burns's third term. Ariyoshi was elected in his own right as governor for the term beginning in 1974. Burns died on April 5, 1975, in Honolulu.
TheJohn A. Burns School of Medicine, at theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, is named for him. In 1997, GovernorBen Cayetano named the newly completedInterstate H-3 in his honor, and the road to the summit ofMauna Kea is also named after him. A Hawaii golf tournament, comprising the state's best amateurs and PGA professionals, was created in his honor. The Governor's Cup is a team event, and is played between the amateurs against the professionals. A special qualifier for the amateur team after the tournament will provide the medalist a chance to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii, a PGA Tour Event.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives fromHawaii Territory's at-large congressional district 1957–1959 | Succeeded by Daniel Inouye U.S. Representative |
| Party political offices | ||
| First | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Hawaii 1959,1962,1966,1970 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Hawaii 1962–1974 On leave: 1973–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Territorial Governor of Hawaiʻi(1898–1941) |   | |
|---|---|---|
| Military Governor of Hawaii(1941–1944) | ||
| Territorial Governor of Hawaiʻi(1944–1959) | ||
| Governor of Hawaiʻi(1959–present) | ||
| Territorial delegate (1899–1959) |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One at-large seat (1959–1963) | |||||
| Two at-large seats (1963–1971) |
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| Districts (1971–present) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
