Laurence Junior Burton (October 30, 1926 – November 27, 2002) was a U.S. Representative from Utah.

Laurence J. Burton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Utah's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1971
Preceded byM. Blaine Peterson
Succeeded byK. Gunn McKay
Personal details
Born(1926-10-30)October 30, 1926
Ogden, Utah, U.S.
DiedNovember 27, 2002(2002-11-27) (aged 76)
Ogden, Utah, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJanice Louise Shupe
Children4
Alma materWeber College
University of Utah
Utah State University
OccupationPublic relations
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1945–46
UnitUnited States Navy Air Corps
Battles/warsWorld War II

Born in Ogden, Utah, Burton graduated from Ogden High School in 1944. Enlisted in the United States Navy Air Corps and served from January 1945 to July 1946. He graduated from Weber College at Ogden, in 1948, from the University of Utah in 1951, and from Utah State University at Logan in 1956. Took postgraduate work at Georgetown and George Washington University, Washington, D.C., in 1957 and 1958. Public relations director and athletic manager at Weber College from 1948 to 1956. Regional director for American College Public Relations Association in 1954 and 1955. He was editor of National Junior College Athletic Association magazine from 1951 to 1961. Legislative assistant to U.S. Representative Henry Aldous Dixon in 1957 and 1958. He served as assistant professor of political science at Weber College from 1958 to 1960. Administrative assistant to Utah Governor George Dewey Clyde from 1960 to 1962. He served as delegate, Republican National Convention, 1968.

Burton was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1971). He was not a candidate for reelection in 1970, but was an [1970 United States Senate election in Utah|unsuccessful nominee in 1970] to the United States Senate. As of 2023 he is the most recent Republican nominee to lose a Senate Election in Utah. He died aged 76 on November 27, 2002, in Ogden.

Burton was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sources

edit
  • United States Congress. "Laurence J. Burton (id: B001155)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • Political Graveyard

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Utah
(Class 1)

1970
Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Utah's 1st congressional district

1963–1971
Succeeded by