Seventy Years of Support: Burton Family's Deep History of Philanthropy is Still Supporting Academic Journeys Today
by Coby Zucker
Andrew Stuart never met his great-grandfather, Charles Luther Burton, but the values of his family’s patriarch — and the philanthropic legacy he created — remain an important part of Stuart’s life today.
Charles Luther Burton, known as C.L., began his working life in his parents' small retail store in Pickering before the family relocated to Toronto in 1888. Leaving school at age 14 to help support his family, he entered the workforce with a dry-goods wholesaler in 1891.
His talent led him in 1912 to The Robert Simpson Company — the famed Simpson's department store — where he rose through senior management to become president in 1929, an experience that shaped both his career and his commitment to helping others. Over a span of nearly 40 years leading Simpson's as president and later board chairman, C.L. Burton oversaw the retail enterprise through decades of extraordinary growth.
Today, however, C.L. Burton’s philanthropy is as much a part of the family name as his commercial success.
“C.L. Burton passed a spirit of generosity down through six generations of my family,” Stuart says. “His legacy is still helping people 70 years later.”
In 1956, C.L. Burton established trusts at University College, St. Michael’s College and the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto. Seven decades later, those trusts continue to provide funding, supporting students and ensuring C.L. Burton’s generosity continues to have an impact.
“I like to reflect on what my great-grandfather, who grew up sweeping floors to support his family, would want from these trusts today,” Stuart says. “I think he’d want students to feel supported in their university experience and to ensure these awards can be sustained.”
As a trustee, Stuart is now focused on ensuring his great-grandfather’s generosity continues to have the greatest possible impact.
“Arts & Science students have amazing initiative,” he says. “Now, we want to give them opportunities they would not have been able to access otherwise.”
The Burtons and U of T
Although C.L. Burton never attended U of T himself, his family’s connection to the university runs deep.
His daughter, Dorothy Graham (née Burton), was the first woman to graduate from U of T in commerce, as part of the class of 1926. She was the first of many members of the Burton family to attend the university and become members of University College, which would come to hold a special place in the family’s history.
Stuart's aunt, Anne Smith (née Burton), and his mother, Mary Alice Stuart (née Burton), were both University College members. Mary Alice was also a top student, earning the gold medal in English, and established deep roots at University College that would endure throughout her life.
Following graduation, Mary Alice maintained a close connection to the university, serving as the driving force and co-chair of U of T’s historic Breakthrough campaign, which raised over $125 million — at the time, the largest university fundraising campaign in Canadian history. Together with her husband, U of T chemical engineering alum Alexander K. Stuart, she also established the Mary Alice Stuart Jazz Scholarship at the Faculty of Music, for which her daughter, Trinity College graduate Clayton Scott, remains engaged and receives the annual report of student recipients.
“University College is where our family took root academically,” says Andrew Stuart, himself a U of T alum who earned a master of applied science in 1987.
The C.L. Burton Open Scholarships at University College reflect that longstanding relationship. For decades, the scholarships — together with the companion award at St. Michael’s College — have opened doors for students and provided vital financial support.
Bennett Armstrong, 2025 Burton Scholarship Fund recipientBecause of the scholarship, I was able to complete a fourth-year chemistry thesis and present my findings at a national conference. The support will have a lasting impact on my academic journey beyond U of T.
“We are deeply grateful for the trust the Burton family has placed in University College to carry forward C.L. Burton’s vision and legacy,” says Professor Markus Stock, principal of University College. “That enduring relationship is an important part of our history, and one that we are very proud to continue for generations to come.”
For students such as Bennett Armstrong, a 2025 Burton Scholarship Fund recipient, that legacy has translated into opportunities that extend well beyond financial assistance.
“Because of the scholarship, I was able to complete a fourth-year chemistry thesis and present my findings at a national conference,” Armstrong says. “The support will have a lasting impact on my academic journey beyond U of T.”
Pioneering discovery in physics
The Burton family’s connection to U of T also extends to the Department of Physics through C.L.’s brother, Eli Frank (E.F.) Burton.
A prominent Canadian physicist and U of T graduate, E.F. Burton became chair of the Department of Physics in 1932. One of his most significant contributions came later that decade, when he helped lead the development of North America’s first practical electron microscope. The Burton Tower of the John C. McLennan Physical Laboratories is named in E.F. Burton’s honour.
“E.F. Burton’s pioneering work in electron microscopy was emblematic of using basic science — in this case, physics — to directly benefit many fields and sectors, showing how support for science can pay dividends in myriad facets of life and society,” says Paul Kushner, current chair of the Department of Physics.
By creating a trust within the department, which subsequently supported the E.F. Burton Fellowships in Physics, C.L. Burton honoured his brother and his important contributions to both the university and the field of physics. Like the awards at University College and St. Michael’s College, the fellowships continue to support students today.
“The fellowships have supported hundreds of graduate students in their journey of discovery over the last 70 years,” Kushner says. “This kind of consistent and ongoing support is critical for the far-horizon work needed for fundamental breakthroughs in physics.”
A family tradition of giving
C.L. Burton’s philanthropy extended well beyond education. He was also a committed supporter of healthcare, contributing company stock to Women’s College Hospital and the Ontario Heart Association. When his second wife, Joyce, died in 2006, she bequeathed to SickKids one of the largest estate gifts in Canadian hospital history, and the single largest bequest SickKids had received.
“He was a prominent Canadian, but he never forgot his roots,” Stuart says. “As he built his wealth, he was always looking for ways to help others.”
In 1960, C.L. Burton’s son Edgar Gordon Burton — Stuart’s grandfather — established the Burton Charitable Foundation in C.L.’s honour, creating a vehicle through which the family could continue that tradition of philanthropy. The foundation supports charitable work in local, provincial and national communities while helping successive generations of the Burton family remain actively involved in giving.
“The foundation takes that spirit of generosity and philanthropy that began with C.L. and passes it down through the generations,” Stuart says. “It helps every member of our family understand philanthropy. It gives us a purpose.”
As U of T approaches its bicentennial in 2027 and reflects on two centuries of teaching, research and discovery, the Burton family’s story illustrates the extraordinary reach of sustained philanthropy: a gift made decades ago can continue opening doors, advancing discovery and changing students’ lives generations later.
Seventy years after C.L. Burton established his trusts, the family’s legacy is not simply being remembered. It is still at work.