George William Burton

Sir George William Burton (July 21, 1818 – August 22, 1901) was a British-Canadian lawyer and judge. He was Chief Justice of Ontario from 1897 to 1900.

Biography Burton was born in Sandwich, Kent, England, on July 21, 1818, the second son of Admiral George Guy Burton, Royal Navy. He was educated at the Rochester and Chatham Proprietary School. In 1836 or 1837, Burton came to Canada and settled in Ingersoll, where he began studying law in the office of his paternal uncle, Edmund Burton. He was called to the bar in 1841 or 1842. he was elected to the position. Upon the elevation of Samuel Henry Strong to the Supreme Court of Canada, in October 1865, Burton became the senior justice of the Court of Appeal. Burton was appointed Chief Justice of Ontario in 1897 and was knighted in 1898. He died on August 22, 1901, in Toronto.