George Burton (chronologer) facts for kids
George Burton (born 1717, died 1791) was an English clergyman and a chronologer. A chronologer is someone who studies and arranges events in the order they happened, especially in history or religious texts. He spent his life studying ancient timelines and trying to understand prophecies from the Bible.
Life of George Burton
George Burton was born in 1717. His father, also named George Burton, was an important person in Leicestershire. He even served as the High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1710.
George Burton went to Catharine Hall, Cambridge University. He earned his first degree in 1736 and a master's degree in 1740. After his studies, he became a member of King's College, Cambridge.
In 1740, he became the rector (a type of church leader) of Elveden in Suffolk. Later, in 1751, he also became the rector of Herringswell, also in Suffolk. He held both these church positions for the rest of his life. Besides his church duties, Burton also taught students, often having three or four living in his home for lessons.
In 1743, he married Anna Reeve in London. They did not have any known children. George Burton passed away in Bath on November 3, 1791, and was buried in the church of Walcot.
George Burton's Published Works
George Burton wrote several books, mostly about his studies of time and prophecies from the Bible. Here are some of his main works:
- 'An Essay towards reconciling the Numbers of Daniel and St. John': This book, published in 1766, tried to connect different timelines from the Bible's books of Daniel and Revelation. He also tried to figure out the exact birth year of Jesus and predict when a period of difficulty for Jewish people would end.
- 'A Supplement to the Essay upon the Numbers of Daniel and St. John': Published in 1769, this book added more ideas to his first essay, using other prophecies from the Bible to support his calculations.
- 'The Analysis of Two Chronological Tables': In 1787, he published this work, which included two detailed tables. One table aimed to link different historical timelines from various ages and nations. The other table was about calculating the date of the Christian holiday of Easter.
- 'History of the Hundred of Elvedon, Suffolk': This was a handwritten history of the area where he was a rector. It is now kept in a special library.
Reputation and Friends
People who knew George Burton had different opinions about his work. The Reverend George Ashby, another scholar, thought Burton was very hardworking in his study of chronology. However, Ashby also mentioned that he found it hard to understand the main ideas or foundations of Burton's theories.
Despite this, George Burton was friends with the famous antiquarian (someone who studies ancient things) Reverend William Stukeley. Stukeley even gave Burton a copy of The Description of Britain, which was a clever fake historical document created by Charles Bertram.
