Biography of Charles Paine Burgess

Charles Paine Burgess studied Science and Engineering at the University from 1907 to 1910. He was born on 9 April, 1888 in Boston, Massachusetts, son of Edward Burgess, a naval architect and yacht designer, and brother of William Starling Burgess, a naval architect, aviation pioneer, and poet. Burgess' parents died in 1891, when he was three, and he and his brother were raised by relatives.

Burgess enrolled in the faculty of Science at the University of Glasgow in 1907, and over three years, attended classes such as Natural Philosophy, Mathematics (regular and honours), Naval Architecture (junior), Chemistry, Chemical Lab, Ship Drawing, and Engineering I. He married Scot Martha P Kay in 1910, and returned to the US settling in Bethesday, Montgomery in Maryland where he took up employment as a naval architect.

Burgess was a member of the Faculty of Aeronautics from 1924 to 1926 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and designed a revolutionary aluminium rig for the sailboat Enterprise which competed in and won the 1930 America’s Cup sailing match. He went on to become an aeronautical engineer for the US Navy Department, where he remained through the Second World War.

He was the author of several books and publications, many of which were written for usage by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

Sources

Other Online Resources

• Peggy Bawn Press, Maritime Book Publishers
• Author Charles Paine Burgess
• MIT Museum Collections
• Wiki Entry William Starling Burgess

Archival Materials

• R8/5/28/1 Glasgow University Matriculation Slips 1907-08
• R8/5/29/1 Glasgow University Matriculation Slips 1908-09
• R8/5/30/1 Glasgow University Matriculation Slips 1909-1910

Summary

Charles Paine Burgess
Born 9 April 1888.
GU Degree: Science and Engineering, 1907-10;
University Link: Student
Occupation categories: engineers, aeronautical; naval architects
English snippet: Engineering student at the University of Glasgow 1907-10, pioneering naval architect
Record last updated: 19th May 2014

Country Associations

United States, Massachusetts, Boston
Place of Birth

United States, Maryland
Place of Death

Scotland, No Region

University Connections

University Roles

• Student

Images

Charles Paine Burgess, Aeronautics MIT 1924-26