George Burkley

George Gregory Burkley (August 29, 1902 – January 2, 1991) was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and physician who served three presidents of the United States.

Early life Burkley was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He studied at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota from 1929 to 1932 before returning to Pittsburgh where he practiced medicine and taught at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; his specialties were cardiology and internal medicine. He signed the President's death certificate. When asked by the JFK Library in 1967 whether he agreed with the Warren Commission regarding the number of bullets which struck President Kennedy he replied, that "I would not care to be quoted on that". Burkley, through his attorney, informed the House Select Committee on Assassinations that he believed that there was a conspiracy involved in the killing of the President. In the 1990s the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), with Burkley and his lawyer now deceased, sought out the records related to Burkley held by his lawyer's firm. However his daughter declined to sign a waiver that would have allowed the ARRB access.

After Lyndon B. Johnson became president, Burkley was appointed his personal physician, and in 1965 he was promoted to vice admiral. He retired at the end of the Johnson administration in January 1969.

Later life and death After retirement, Burkley lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He moved to Blairsville, Pennsylvania in 1970, then to Los Angeles in 1975 two years after the death of his wife, the former Isabel Winburn.

On January 2, 1991, Burkley died of pneumonia at a nursing home in Los Angeles.