Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 02.djvu/66

 BURLESON.

BURLINGAME.

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memoir, accompanied by a choice collection of his poems, was published (1871) by his wife, Mrs. Celia (Burr) Burleigh. He died at Brook- lyn, N. Y., March 18, 1871.

BURLESON, RUFUS C, educator, was born near Decatur, Ala., Aug. 7, 1823, son of Jonathan Burleson. He attended NaslivjUe university, and in 1840 was licensed to preach by the First Baptist church of Nasliville. He was graduated at the Western Baptist literary and theological institute

at Covington, Ky., in 1847. A post- graduate course of seven months com- pleted his theolog- ical studies, and he was elected pas- tor of the First Baptist church, Houston, Texas, )^ which he built up '* until it became the largest church in the city and the

./^t/v^^ {^'^..^i.^d^tn.^. °iost liberal in the ^ state. In J u n e,

1852, he was elected president of Baylor university to succeed Dr. H. L. Groves. In 1861, with his brother, Richard Burleson, LL.D., vice-president, and the entire faculty he removed to Waco, Texas, as a more accessible location, and founded Waco university, which became one of the leading co-educational institutions of the soutli. As a preacher, in his early days, Dr. Burleson bap- tized Mrs. Dickenson, the heroine of the Alamo, and Gen. Sam Houston, the hero of San Jacinto. His interest extended beyond his pastoral and educational work, and he joined in advancing the political and material interests of Texas. He re- ceived the degrees of D.D. and LL.D. He died in Waco, Texas, May 13, 1901.

BURLINGAME, Anson, statesman, was born in New Berlin, N. Y., Nov. 14, 1820. His ancestors were among the first settlers of Rhode Island. His early education was received in the schools of Seneca county, Ohio, whither his father liad removed in 1823, and later in those of Detroit. Mich., where the family settled in 1833. His col- legiate training was gained at the University of Michigan, and he subsequently entered the law school at Harvard college, where he was grad- uated in 1846. He engaged in the practice of the law in Boston, and took an active part in the Free Soil movement, attaining some distinction as an orator during the political campaign of 1848. In 1852 he was elected to the state senate, and in 1853 was a member of the convention for revising the constitution of Massachusetts. In 1854 he joined the American party, by whom he was

elected a representative in the 34th Congress. In Congress he was distinguished for his eloquence in upholding anti-slavery principles. His de- nunciation of Preston S. Brooks, for his assault upon Charles Sumner, called out a challenge which he accepted, naming rifles as the weapons, and Canada as the place of combat. Mr. Brooks objected to these arrangements and the duel was never fought. Mr. Burlingame was a represen- tative in the 35th and 36th congresses, and his non-election to the 87th. in 1860, terminated his congressional service. He was appointed minister to Austria by Mr. Lincoln, but that gov- ernment refused to receive him because of opin- ions expressed by him regarding the politics of Austria. Ho was subsequently sent as minister to China, where his wise diplomacy benefited the commerce of the United States, and where he suc- ceeded in framing articles supplementary to the treaty of 1858, which was China's first formal recognition of international law and was known, as the Burlingame Treaty. The Chinese regent and prime minister. Prince Kung, appreciated Mr. Burlingame's services so highly that when, in 1867, he was about to return home that ofli- cial requested him to act as special envoy to the United States government and the principal European powers, to establish with them treaties on behalf of China, and before the close of 1869 he had concluded satisfactory treaties with the United States, Great Britain, Sweden, Prussia, Holland, and Denmark, and while negotiating one with Russia, at St. Petersburg, he was stricken with pneumonia, and after a short illness died on February 23, 1870.

BURLINQA.'WE, Edward Livern-ore, editor. was born in Boston. Mass., May 30, 184s, son of Anson Burlingame. He accompanied his father on several of liis diplomatic missions, thus enjoy- ing unusual advantages of travel. He left Har- vard before completing his course and became private secretary to his father, then minister to China. The years 1867-'69 were spent in study at Heidelberg, where he took the degree of Ph.D.. and a part of the year 1870 at Berlin. Retur.aing to America in 1870 he was engaged for a time on the editorial staff of the New York Tribune, and from 1872 to 1876 he was connected editorially with the revision of TJie American Cyclopcedia, In 1879 lie joined the editorial staff of the Scrib- ner publishing house, and in 1886 became the editor of the new Scribner's Magazine. He was also associated with others in the preparation of several historical works and has made numerous contributions to periodical literature. He trans- lated and edited Art Life and Tlieories of Richard Wagner (1875); and edited Current Disciisaion: a Collection from the Chief English Essays on Questions of the Time (2 vols., 1878).