Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
William Burt (1852-1936), an American pastor, missionary, and bishop, was born in Padstow, Cornwall, England, on October 23, 1852. His family immigrated to the United States. Burt graduated from Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1879, and from Drew Theological School in Madison, New Jersey, in 1881. Eventually, he received honorary doctorates from Grant, Wesleyan, and Syracuse Universities and Dickinson and Allegheny Colleges.
Joining the New York East Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1881, Burt served St. Paul's Church and De Kalb Avenue Church in Brooklyn before being transferred to the Italy Annual Conference in 1886. In 1888 he moved to Florence, establishing a theological school, and became superintendent of the Italy Mission. Coming to Rome in 1890, Burt was instrumental in establishing the Methodist Building, the Boy's College, a Theological School, Publishing House, and Young Ladies College. He also led in building several churches and schools in other parts of Italy.
On May 20, 1904, Burt was elected a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and appointed resident Bishop of Europe. While in charge of the work in Europe, he organized the France Mission Conference, the Austria- Hungary Mission Conference, the Russian Mission Conference, and the Denmark and Finland Annual Conferences. In 1910 he organized all the Methodist work in Europe into the European Central Annual Conference.
On several occasions the Board of Bishops designated Burt to be an Episcopal visitor in other areas of the world. In 1906 he was Fraternal delegate to the British and Irish Wesleyan Conference, and in that same year made the Quadrennial visit to Methodist missions in Africa. In 1917 he visited the Methodist work in the Orient including China, Japan, the Philippines, India, Korea, and the Malay Peninsula. Finally in 1919 Burt was called upon to study post-war conditions in Europe with the purpose of rebuilding Methodist Episcopal churches.
Burt's contributions and honors were many. He wrote ten books and translated the Discipline into Italian. King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy knighted him in 1903. He was received by the kings of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden as well as by the queens of Italy and Bulgaria, the Emperor of Germany and the Shah of Persia.
Bishop Burt returned to the United States in 1912 assuming episcopal leadership of the Buffalo, New York area. He retired in 1924 and died at Clifton Springs, New York on April 9, 1936. He is buried in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Burt married Helen Bartlett Graves (born April 14, 1856) on April 14, 1881. They had five children.