William Douglas Burden (September 24, 1898 – November 14, 1978), was an American naturalist, filmmaker, and author who co-founded Marineland in Florida.

Early life

Burden was born on September 24, 1898, in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

, but grew up in Manhattan, where the family lived at 7 East 91st Street in a home designed by Warren & Wetmore. He was the second son of James Abercrombie Burden Jr. (1871–1932) and Florence Adele Sloane (1873–1960). His older brother was James Abercrombie Burden III, and his younger sister was Florence "Sheila" Burden (the wife of Blake Leigh Lawrence, a descendant of the Chanler, Winthrop, and

Astor Astor may refer to: People * Astor (surname) * Astor family, a wealthy 18th-century American family who became prominent in 20th-century British politics * Astor Bennett, a character in the Showtime television series ''Dexter'' * Ástor Piazzol ...

families). After his father's death in 1932, his mother remarried in 1936 to Richard M. Tobin, a banker who had been the American Minister to the Netherlands under President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

. His father's family had organized and ran the

Burden Iron Works The Burden Iron Works was an iron works and industrial complex on the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek in Troy, New York. It once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. It is widely believed that George ...

in Troy, of which his father served as president from 1906 until his death. His paternal grandparents were Mary Proudfit (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Irvin) Burden (daughter of Richard Irvin) and James Abercrombie Burden (son of

Henry Burden Henry Burden (April 22, 1791 – January 19, 1871) was an engineer and businessman who built an industrial complex in Troy, New York called the Burden Iron Works. Burden's horseshoe machine, invented in 1835, was capable of making 60 horseshoes ...

). His uncle, Arthur Scott Burden, was the first husband of

Cynthia Roche The Hon. Cynthia Burke Roche (10 April 1884 – 18 December 1966) was a British-American socialite and art collector from Newport, Rhode Island. Life and work She was born on 10 April 1884 in London to James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (1852–192 ...

(the daughter of the 3rd Baron Fermoy and Frances Ellen Work, and a sister of the 4th Baron Fermoy, a grandfather of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

). His sister, Adele Burden Lawrence, married the prominent writer

Louis Stanton Auchincloss Louis Stanton Auchincloss (; September 27, 1917 – January 26, 2010)Holcomb B. Noble and Charles McGrath''The New York Times''. Retrieved on January 27, 2010. was an American lawyer, novelist, historian, and essayist. He is best known as a novel ...

. His maternal grandparents were William D. Sloane, the head of W. & J. Sloane, and

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (January 31, 1852 – July 28, 1946) was an American philanthropist and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. She financed the creation of New York's Sloane Hospital for Women in 1888 with an endowment of more than $1 ...

(a daughter of William Henry Vanderbilt and granddaughter of

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

). His aunt was

Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond (September 17, 1874 – February 22, 1970) was an author, philanthropist, and socialite. She was a member of the Vanderbilt family, and mother of music producer John Hammond. She was a keen musician and was presiden ...

. Burden graduated with an A.B. degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1922, followed by a master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1926. In 1922,

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

did a charcoal portrait of Burden.

Career

Shortly after graduating from Harvard, Burden went to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

on an expedition to bring back specimens for the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

which led to the establishment of the Department of Animal Behavior in 1928. He was elected to the board of trustees of the museum in 1926. He led expeditions to various tropical islands and the Arctic, but his most well known expedition was to the Island of Komodo in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

in 1926. Along with his first wife Catherine and their party, he went looking for the

Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant ...

(''Varanus komodoensis''), which the ''New York Times'' called a "fierce direct descendant of the dinosaur". By using sapling traps baited with buffalo meat, Burden was the first "white man" to find and trap the giant lizards which weighed 350 pounds and were approximately 10 feet long. They also collected 3,000 insect and amphibian specimens. Of the three Komodo dragons they captured, two were given to the

Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and is the largest metropolitan zoo in ...

, but died soon thereafter and were mounted in the new Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians at the museum. In 1930, he co-wrote and produced, with William Chanler as part of Burden-Chanler Productions, the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

entitled '' The Silent Enemy'' starring

Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance (born Sylvester Clark Long; December 1, 1890 – March 20, 1932) was a journalist, writer and film actor who, for a time, became internationally prominent as a spokesman for Native Americans in the United States, Na ...

. Along with Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, Sherman Pratt, and

Ilya Andreyevich Tolstoy Count Ilya Andreyevich Tolstoy (3 February 1903 Tula Governorate – 28 October 1970 New York City) was a U.S. Army Colonel and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's envoy in Tibet. He was one of the founders of Marineland of Florida, of the Bahamas Na ...

(grandson of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

), Burden founded and served as president of Marineland, one of Florida's first

marine mammal park A marine mammal park (also known as marine animal park and sometimes oceanarium) is a commercial theme park or aquarium where marine mammals such as dolphins, beluga whales and sea lions are kept within water tanks and displayed to the public in ...

s in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...

in 1938. The park was conceived as an oceanarium that could be used to film marine life. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he developed a shark repellent for the U.S. Navy.

Published works

In 1927, he wrote a book about the expedition to Komodo Island entitled ''The Dragon Lizards of Komodo.'' Burden's chapter "The Komodo Dragon"—in his book ''Look to the Wilderness'', published in 1956—describes the expedition, the habitat, and the behavior of the dragon. In 1960, Burden wrote ''Book to the Wilderness''.

Personal life

Burden was married three times, with his first and second marriage ending in divorce. His first marriage was to Katherine Curtin White (1902–1976), a daughter of Ernest Ingersol White and Katharine Curtin (née Sage) White, in 1924. Her uncle, Horace White, had been

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

in 1910. Before their divorce, they lived at

East 72nd Street 72nd Street is one of the major bi-directional crosstown streets in New York City's borough of Manhattan. The street primarily runs through the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods. It is one of the few streets to go through Cen ...

in Manhattan and were the parents of: * Katharine Sage "Wendy" Burden (b. 1927), who married Walter Denegre Sohier. They divorced and she married the journalist

Edward P. Morgan Edward Paddock Morgan (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 1993) was an American journalist and writer who reported for newspapers, radio, and television media services including ABC, CBS networks, and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). A native o ...

. * William Douglas Burden Jr. (1931–2008), who was one of America's top ski racers, competing internationally, until a near-fatal ski racing accident in Italy in 1954 ended his career. His life partner was Marilyn Hodges Wilmerding. * Andrew White Burden (b. 1935), who married Meta Craig Paumgarten, a daughter of

Harald Paumgarten Harald Paumgarten (4 April 1904 in Graz - 6 February 1952 near Sankt Anton am Arlberg) was an Austrian cross-country skier, ski jumper, and Nordic combined skier who competed in the 1920s and in the 1930s. He competed in the 1928 Winter Oly ...

, in 1962. His wife died in a tragic avalanche on the back of Ajax in 1972. After their divorce, Katherine married Dan Platt Caulkins (who had previously been married to a daughter of banker

Seward Prosser Seward Prosser (March 1, 1871 – October 1, 1942) was an American banker and philanthropist who served as the head of Bankers Trust. Early life Prosser was born in Buffalo, New York on March 1, 1871. He was a son of Henry Wilbur Prosser and Anna ...

) in 1939. He married secondly to Elizabeth (née Chace) Gammack (1911–2013) in 1940. Elizabeth was a daughter of Malcolm Greene Chace and the former wife of Thomas Hubbard Gammack. Before their divorce, they were the parents of one son, Christopher Burden. After their divorce, Elizabeth married Grenville Temple Emmet (a son of diplomat

Grenville T. Emmet Grenville Temple Emmet (August 2, 1877 – September 26, 1937) was an American attorney and diplomat. He practiced law with Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands and Austria. Early life Emmet was born in ...

) in 1973. His third, and final, marriage was in 1971 to Jeanne Wells (née Wight) Booth (1922–1995). Jeanne, the former wife of John Welles Booth, was a daughter of George Houghton Wight and Vida (née Johnson) Wight. Burden died in Charlotte, Vermont on November 14, 1978. He was buried at Grand View Cemetery in Chittenden County, Vermont. After his death, his widow remarried to

Dunbar Bostwick Dunbar Wright Bostwick (January 10, 1908 – January 25, 2006) was an American businessman, hockey player, pilot and horseman. Biography Dunbar Bostwick was the fourth child of Albert Carlton Bostwick Sr. and Mary Lillian Stokes. His father was ...

in 1983. Bostwick was the widower of Burden's cousin, Electra Webb (a daughter of James Watson Webb, Sr. and Electra Havemeyer Webb).

Descendants

Through his daughter Katharine, he was a grandfather of the photographer and educator Katharine Sage Sohier (b. 1954). Through his son Andrew, he was a grandfather of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

graduate William Douglas Burden III (b. 1965), who became a decorated Olympic rower.

Legacy

Burden is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard, '' Cryptoblepharus burdeni''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Burden", p. 43).

References

External links

*
Results of the Douglas Burden Expedition to the Island of Komodo. 1, Notes on Varanus komodoensis. American Museum novitates ; no. 286
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burden, William Douglas 1898 births 1978 deaths Vanderbilt family Businesspeople from Troy, New York People from the Upper East Side 19th-century American businesspeople Harvard College alumni 20th-century American businesspeople