Thornton W. Burgess | |
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| Born | Thornton Waldo Burgess (1874-01-14)January 14, 1874 Sandwich, Massachusetts |
| Died | June 5, 1965(1965-06-05) (aged 91) Hampden, Massachusetts |
| Resting place | Springfield Cemetery,Springfield, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Author of children's books Conservationist |
| Spouse | Nina E. Osbourne Burgess (1905–1906) Fannie H. Phillips Burgess (1911–1950) |
| Children | Thornton Waldo Burgess III |
Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 17, 1874 – June 5, 1965) was an Americanconservationist and author ofchildren's stories. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for his daily newspaper column.
Born January 14, 1874 inSandwich, Massachusetts, onCape Cod, Burgess was the son of Caroline F. Haywood and Thornton W. Burgess Sr., a direct descendant of Thomas Burgess, one of the first Sandwich settlers in 1637. Thornton, Sr., died the same year his son was born, and the young Thornton, Jr. was brought up by his mother in Sandwich. They lived in humble circumstances. As a youth, he worked tending cows, pickingtrailing arbutus (mayflowers) or berries, shipping water lilies from local ponds, selling candy, and trappingmuskrats. William C. Chipman, one of his employers, lived on Discovery Hill Road, a wildlife habitat of woodland and wetland. This habitat became the setting of many stories in which Burgess refers to Smiling Pool and the Old Briar Patch.[1]
Graduating fromSandwich High School in 1891, Burgess briefly attended a business college inBoston from 1892 to 1893, living inSomerville, Massachusetts, at that time. But he disliked studying business and wanted to be an author. He relocated toSpringfield, Massachusetts, where he accepted a job as an editorial assistant at the Phelps Publishing Company. His first stories were written using the pseudonym "W. B. Thornton".[2]
Burgess married Nina Osborne in 1905, but she died in childbirth a year later, leaving him to raise their son alone. It is said that he began writing bedtime stories to entertain his young son, Thornton III.[3] Burgess remarried in 1911; his wife Fannie had two children by a previous marriage. The couple later bought a home inHampden, Massachusetts, in 1925 that became Burgess' permanent residence in 1957. His second wife died in August 1950. Burgess returned frequently to Sandwich, which he always claimed as his spiritual home. Many of his childhood experiences and the people he knew there influenced his interest and were the impetus for his concern for wildlife.[1]
Burgess used his outdoor observations of nature as plots for his stories. In Burgess' first book,Old Mother West Wind (1910), the reader meets many of the characters found in later books and stories. The characters in theOld Mother West Wind series includePeter Rabbit (known briefly as Peter Cottontail), Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Bobby Raccoon, Little Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog, Billy Mink, Jerry Muskrat, Spotty the Turtle, Old Mother West Wind, and her Merry Little Breezes.[1]
For the next 50 years, Burgess steadily wrote books that were published around the world in many languages, including French, Gaelic, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish. Collaborating with him was his illustrator and friendHarrison Cady who was born and raised inGardner, Massachusetts, and thereafter of New York andRockport, Massachusetts.Peter Rabbit was created by British author and illustratorBeatrix Potter, prompting Burgess to note, "I like to think that Miss Potter gave Peter a name known the world over, while I with Mr. Cady's help perhaps made him a character."[4]
From 1895 to 1962, Burgess wrote "nearly 900" stories, natural science articles, and poems for magazines, including 201 children's stories forPeople's Home Journal magazine. For over 16 years from May 1913 through the magazine's demise following its final December 1929 issue, Burgess published a children's story in every issue ofPeople's Home Journal magazine.[5]
From 1912 to 1960, without interruption, Burgess wrote his syndicated daily newspaper column (via theGeorge Matthew Adams Service),Bedtime Stories.[6]
From 1912 to 1960, Burgess also broadcast on the radio. HisRadio Nature League radio series began atWBZ (AM), then located inSpringfield, in early January 1925. Burgess broadcast the program from the studio at the Hotel Kimball on Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m.[7] Praised by educators and parents, the program had listeners and members in more than 30 states at its peak. Burgess'Radio Nature League disbanded briefly in August 1930, but he continued to give radio talks for WBZ concerningconservation and the humane treatment of animals.[6]
In 1960, Burgess published his last book,Now I Remember, Autobiography of an Amateur Naturalist, depicting memories of his early life in Sandwich as well as his career highlights. That same year, Burgess, at the age of 86, had published his 15,000th newspaper column.[8]
In 1998, Burgess' granddaughter, Frances B. Meigs, publishedMy Grandfather, Thornton W. Burgess : An Intimate Portrait, detailing her childhood growing up under his wing.[9]
He died on June 5, 1965, at the age of 91.[10] His son had died suddenly the year before.[citation needed]
Burgess was actively involved withconservation efforts. Some of his projects during his lifetime included:
For his efforts, Burgess also received:
After his death, theMassachusetts Audubon Society purchased Burgess' Hampden home and established the Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary at that location;[11]the house is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
The Thornton W. Burgess Society operates the Green Briar Nature Center in East Sandwich, Massachusetts.[12] The Society'sThornton W. Burgess Museum in Sandwich closed to the public October 2012.[13]
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