Born at Yorkshire, England in 1857, William A. Burman was persuaded to immigrate to Canada at the age of 18. After his arrival in Manitoba, he attended St. John’s College where he studied natural sciences and theology. In 1879 he was ordained deacon and was sent to the Sioux Reserve near Griswold (now the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation) to establish a mission. He worked there for ten years, became fluent in the Sioux language and very knowledgeable in the Indian work of the Church.
In 1886 he was appointed the first rural dean of Brandon, Manitoba. He organized and was the first head of the Rupert’s Land Industrial School at Middlechurch. He also helped build St. Peter’s mission in Winnipeg. Failing health forced him to give up parish work, and in 1903 he was appointed steward and bursar at St. John’s College, where he had been lecturing in botany and Biblical literature.
As an avid nature lover, he had a wide reputation as a botanist and became an examiner in botany for the University of Manitoba. He was also the founder of the Forestry and Horticultural Association of Manitoba which still promotes horticulture on the prairies. He served as the Manitoba Historical Society president from 1899 to 1901.
Burman died in Winnipeg on January 30, 1909.

Philip Burnett, of Montreal, was founder of the first dermatological clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital in 1904. After attending Clifton College, Bristol, he graduated in medicine from McGill University in 1900 and continued postgraduate training in England, France, Germany and Austria before and after World War I. In 1901 he received the diplomas of L.R.C.P. and M.R.C.S. In 1914 he took an active part in the formation of the No. 6 Field Ambulance Corps and in the following year went overseas with the rank of major. While serving in France he was named consultant dermatologist to the Second Canadian Army. He was promoted to the rank of colonel during the war and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He was a charter member and the first president of the Montreal Dermatological Society, in 1930-31. In 1942 he retired as dermatologist at the Royal Victoria Hospital and also a professor of clinical dermatology at McGill University, an appointment he had held for many years. (Canadian Medical Association Journal v. 72, pg. 711, 1955 or v. 73, pg. 73, 1955)

The Centre is dedicated to the publication of complete, definitive scholarly editions of the journals and letters of Frances Burney (1752-1840) and the letters and memoirs of her father, the music historian Dr Charles Burney (1726-1814). The Burney Centre was founded in 1960, as the Burney Papers Project, by the late Joyce Hemlow. Dr. Hemlow, the author of The History of Fanny Burney (Clarendon Press, 1958), taught at McGill University from 1948 and served as Director of the Centre until her retirement in 1984. She was succeeded by Lars Troide, who in turn was succeeded in 2003 by the present Director, Peter Sabor.

The Centre works closely with the Burney Society of North America and the United Kingdom, and produces the Society's Burney Journal and Burney Letter.

From its inception, the Burney Centre has been supported by funding from McGill University. In addition, the Centre currently receives generous grants from, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canada Research Chairs programme, and the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture.

Charles Burney was an organist and music historian born on April 7, 1726, in Shrewsbury, England. He studied music and was first apprenticed as an assistant to his half-brother James, who worked at St. Mary's Church, Shrewsury, as an organist. In 1744, Charles became apprenticed to composer Thomas Arne and in 1746 was employed as a musician by Fulke Greville until his marriage to Esther Sleepe (approximately 1725-1762) in 1749. After his marriage, Burney worked as an organist and music instructor. Esther Burney died in 1762 and Charles Burney married Elizabeth Allen (1728-1796) in 1767, with whom he had two children. Burney recieved a DMus from Oxford University in 1769 after which he left on a musical tour of the European continent. As a music historian, he published numerous volumes throughout the 1770s and 1780s on European music. He suffered from ill health beginning in the 1790s and experienced a stroke that paralysed one hand in 1807. He died in 1814 in Chelsea.

Charles Burney was born on December 4, 1757, in King's Lynn, Norfolk. He was the second surviving son of Charles Burney (1726-1814) and his first wife, Esther Sleepe (c.1725-1762). At the age of ten, he began attending the Charterhouse School through the recommendation of George Spencer, fourth duke of Marlborough.

Cambridge

In January 1777, at the age of nineteen, Charles was admitted to Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge. He was not, however, admitted as a 'scholar', but rather as a 'pensioner' or 'commoner' (a student who was required to pay for his own tuition and college fees).

Theft of Books

In October 1778, Charles was discovered to have stolen books from the university library. He had taken the Cambridge nameplate out of the front, replaced it with his own, and had sold the books to London book dealers. His sister Frances later tried to explain Charles' crime as an overly strong desire to possess his own library. It is more likely, however, that Charles was attempting to get some money without the knowledge of his family, in order to discharge his gambling debts. Whatever the cause, Charles was immediately sent down (expelled) after Cambridge University learned of his theft. His father was so angry that he considered both disowning his son and forcing him to change his last name.

Classical Studies at Aberdeen

After some time spent in Shinfield, Berkshire, Charles was admitted to King's College, Aberdeen. He pursued his interest in classical studies, and graduated MA in March 1781. Though he industriously applied himself to his studies, he still had time to gamble, drink heavily, and socialize with rakish friends (among which included the earls of Fife and Lindlater). During this time, he also suffered unrequited love for Jane Abernethie, a cousin of Fife's.

Schoolmaster

When Charles returned to London in July 1781, he attempted to obtain a position as a curate, but his dubious past made this difficult. Instead, he chose to become a schoolmaster. He first taught at Highgate School in London, then at William Rose's private academy in Chiswick, Middlesex. He fell in love with Rose's daughter, Sarah Rose (1759-1821), and the two were married on June 24, 1783. Their only child, Charles Parr Burney (1785-1864), was born two years later. William Rose died in 1786, and Charles became headmaster in his father-in-law's stead.

Classical Scholar

During his time as a schoolmaster, Charles continued to publish on Greek and Latin topics, including translations and commentaries. He was highly regarded as a classical scholar in his own time, but his reputation declined after his death.

Degrees and Promotion

In 1792, Charles obtained honorary doctorates in law from both King's College, Aberdeen and the University of Glasgow. In 1807, he became a deacon of the Church of England. The same year, through the influence of his close friend Samuel Parr, Charles was reinstated at his former Cambridge college. In 1808, he was both ordained a priest and granted the degree of MA from Cambridge by royal mandate. After his scandalous past at Cambridge was redeemed, Charles continued to quickly advance in the church. He also continued to be lauded as a scholar; he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (1802), made professor of ancient literature at the Royal Academy (1810), and elected to the Literary Club(1810).

Final Years

Charles retired from his post as schoolmaster in 1813, allowing his son, Charles Parr, to take over his duties. On December 28, 1817, at the age of sixty, Charles died of an apoplectic stroke. He is buried in St Paul's Churchyard, Deptford.

Legacy

During his life, Charles collected an immense private library. His collection included about 13,500 printed books and manuscript volumes, nearly 400 volumes of notes, cuttings, playbills and other material related to the history of the English theatre, and about 700 volumes of newspapers spanning the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. His library was purchased in 1818 by the British Museum for the sum of £13,500. The Burney Collection of Newspapers is now held by the British Library.