Thomas Ferrier Burns (21 April 1906 – 8 December 1995), publisher and magazine editor, was an important figure in mid-20th-century Catholic publishing in Britain.

Life

Burns was born in

Vina Del Mar Vina may refer to: People * Émilie Vina (born 1982), French cross-country skier * Ionuț Vînă (born 1995), Romanian footballer * Vina Bovy (1900–1983), Belgian operatic soprano * Vina Mazumdar (1927–2013), Indian academic and feminist ...

, Chile, to Clara (née Swinburne) and David Burns. His father was a Scotsman and his mother was a Chilean of English and Basque descent. Burns was brought up in England and educated at Jesuit schools, first at Wimbledon College and then at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

. His first job, in 1926, was on the staff of the newly founded publishing firm Sheed & Ward. In 1935 he moved to

Longman's Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

. At Longman's he backed

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

's project to write about the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico, which led directly to ''The Lawless Roads'' (1939) (US title ''Another Mexico''), and indirectly to '' The Power and the Glory'' (1940). From 1940 to 1944 he was press attaché to Sir Samuel Hoare, British ambassador to Spain. In 1944 he married a Spanish bride, Maria Isabel Marañón, daughter of

Gregorio Marañón Gregorio Marañón y Posadillo, OWL (19 May 1887 in Madrid – 27 March 1960 in Madrid) was a Spanish physician, scientist, historian, writer and philosopher. He married Dolores Moya in 1911, and they had four children (Carmen, Belén, María ...

. The couple had three sons and a daughter. From 1935 to 1985 Burns was a director of the Tablet Publishing Company, and editor of '' The Tablet'' from 1967 to 1982. The furore over ''

Humanae Vitae ''Humanae vitae'' (Latin: ''Of Human Life'') is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth'', it re-affirmed the teaching of ...

'' was his first challenge as editor, and Burns, quoting

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

, decided to take the line "to conscience first and to the Pope afterwards".Tom Burns, ''The Use of Memory: Publishing and Further Pursuits''. London: Sheed & Ward, 1993, pp. xiii-xiv. He was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1983.

Publications

*Tom Burns, ''The Use of Memory: Publishing and Further Pursuits''. London: Sheed & Ward, 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Tom British male journalists British autobiographers English Roman Catholics English people of Chilean descent 1906 births 1995 deaths People educated at Stonyhurst College People from Viña del Mar British people of Basque descent British people of Chilean descent