Burton, Edward Milby | South Carolina Public Radio

"B" is for Burton, Edward Milby (1898-1977). Museum director, naturalist, historian. As a young man, Burton had an avid interest in hunting and fishing that led to an interest in natural history. In 1930 ,he joined the board of the Charleston Museum and two years later was appointed its director. He set out to enlarge the museum’s collections of freshwater fish (personally adding 3,156 specimens). During the late 1930s, he secured the historic Joseph Manigault House for the museum, thereby saving it from destruction. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy, during which he was awarded the Silver Star for bravery. Milby Burton’s interest in Lowcountry history and culture resulted in three landmark books: South Carolina Silversmiths, 1690-1860; Charleston Furniture, 1700-1825; and the critically acclaimed Civil War narrative The Siege of Charleston, 1861-1865.