James MacGregor Burns

American historian and political scientist (1918–2014)
Person human Q1529607
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Summary

James MacGregor Burns was born on August 3, 1918[1], in Melrose[2]. He died on July 15, 2014[3], in Williamstown[4]. He worked as a historian[5], non-fiction writer[6], university teacher[7], and political scientist[8]. He ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (355 views/month, #7,208 of 1,000,298).[9]

Key Facts

  • Place of burial: Williams College Cemetery[10]
  • Spouse: Joan Simpson Burns[11]
  • Country of citizenship: United States[12]
  • Position held: chairperson[13]
  • Employer: Williams College[14]
  • Educated at: Lexington High School[15], Williams College[16], Harvard University[17], London School of Economics and Political Science[18]
  • Award received: Pulitzer Prize for History[19], National Book Award[20], Francis Parkman Prize[21], Harold Lasswell Award for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Political Psychology[22]
  • Member of: American Academy of Arts and Sciences[23], American Philosophical Society[24]
  • Sex or gender: male[25]
  • Military branch: United States Army[26]
  • Military, police or special rank: enlisted rank[27]
  • Participated in conflict: World War II[28]
  • Family name: Burns[29]
  • Given name: James[30], MacGregor[31]
  • Described by source: American Political Scientists[32]
  • Languages spoken, written or signed: English[33]

Why It Matters

James MacGregor Burns has Wikipedia articles in 5 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[34] He is known by 5 alternative names across languages and contexts.[35]

FAQs

Where was James MacGregor Burns born?

James MacGregor Burns's place of birth was Melrose[2].

Where did James MacGregor Burns die?

James MacGregor Burns died in Williamstown[4].

Who was James MacGregor Burns married to?

James MacGregor Burns's spouses include Joan Simpson Burns[11].

What did James MacGregor Burns do for work?

James MacGregor Burns worked as a historian[5], non-fiction writer[6], university teacher[7], and political scientist[8].

Where did James MacGregor Burns go to school?

James MacGregor Burns was educated at Lexington High School[15], Williams College[16], and Harvard University[17].

What awards did James MacGregor Burns receive?

Honors received include Pulitzer Prize for History[19], National Book Award[20], Francis Parkman Prize[21], and Harold Lasswell Award for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Political Psychology[22].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . Freebase Data Dumps. startribune.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  3. [25] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [12] ↑ . nytimes.com. nytimes.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  6. [13] ↑ . apsanet.org. apsanet.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  7. [15] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  8. [16] ↑ . American Political Scientists. wikidata.org.
  9. [17] ↑ . American Political Scientists. wikidata.org.
  10. [18] ↑ . American Political Scientists. wikidata.org.
  11. [5] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  12. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [7] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  14. [8] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [10] ↑ . Find a Grave. wikidata.org.
  17. [19] ↑ . pulitzer.org. pulitzer.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  18. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [21] ↑ . sah.columbia.edu. sah.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  20. [22] ↑ . ispp.org. ispp.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  21. [26] ↑ . American Political Scientists. wikidata.org.
  22. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [1] ↑ . American Political Scientists. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  26. [3] ↑ . britannica.com. britannica.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  27. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  30. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [33] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [9] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [34] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [35] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). James MacGregor Burns. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/james-macgregor-burns
MLA “James MacGregor Burns.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 11 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/james-macgregor-burns.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_james-macgregor-burns_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{James MacGregor Burns}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/james-macgregor-burns}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-11}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): James MacGregor Burns — https://4ort.xyz/entity/james-macgregor-burns (retrieved 2026-10-11)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 11d ago · Susmuffin · 2026-10-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Harper's tag → james-macgregor-burns
    Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'arz', 'de', 'en', 'fr', 'pl', 'simple', 'uz']
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ Harper's tag: james-macgregor-burns, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/289939994|james macgregor burns (#289939994)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/"
  2. 21d ago · YoureAGhostBaby · 2026-09-23 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Given name → James, MacGregor
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Given name: MacGregor"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.