Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a U.S. senator from Ohio, and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Born in Boston, Burton practiced law in Cleveland after graduating from Harvard Law School. After serving in the United States Army during World War I, Burton became active in Republican Party politics and won election to the Ohio House of Representatives. After serving as the mayor of Cleveland, Burton won election to the United States Senate in 1940. After the retirement of Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts, President Harry S. Truman successfully nominated Burton to the Supreme Court. Burton served on the Court until 1958, when he was succeeded by Potter Stewart.
Burton was known as a dispassionate, pragmatic, somewhat plodding jurist who preferred to rule on technical and procedural rather than constitutional grounds. He was also seen as an affable justice who helped ease tension on the court during an extremely acrimonious time. He wrote the majority opinion in Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath (1951) and Lorain Journal Co. v. United States (1951). He also helped shape the Court's unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
Harold Hitz Burton was born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the second son of Anna Gertrude (Hitz) and Alfred Edgar Burton. His older brother was named Felix Arnold Burton. Harold's father was an engineer and the first Dean of Student Affairs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1902–1921), reporting to the president. He taught at MIT before being selected as dean. As a former explorer, Burton had accompanied Robert Peary on several expeditions to the North Pole.
Harold's mother died young. In 1906, his father married Lena Yates, a poet and artist from England who later took the name of Jeanne D'Orge. They met that year on a walking trip in France. Yates published children's books as Lena Dalkeith. The couple had three children: Christine, Virginia (1909–1968), and Alexander Ross Burton. The half siblings developed warm relationships over time. Virginia became an author and illustrator.
Burton attended Bowdoin College, where he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, was quarterback of the football team, and graduated summa cum laude. His roommate and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Theta chapter) brother was Owen Brewster, later a U.S. Senator from Maine. Burton went on to Harvard Law School, graduating in 1912.
Felix Arnold Burton became an architect after also attending Bowdoin. The Burton brothers and J. Edgar Hoover were second cousins on their mothers' side. Their common great-grandparents were Johannes (Hans) Hitz, first Swiss Consul General to the United States, and his wife Anna Kohler.
Burton married Selma Florence Smith in 1912. They had four children: Barbara (Mrs. Charles Weidner), William (who served on the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) during WWII, in the Ohio House of Representatives and was a noted trial lawyer), Deborah (Mrs. Wallace Adler), and Robert (a distinguished attorney and counsel to athletes).
After graduation and marriage, Burton moved with his wife to Cleveland and began the practice of law there. However, in 1914, he joined his wife's uncle as a company attorney for Utah Power and Light Company in Salt Lake City. He later worked for Utah Light and Traction, and then for Idaho Power Company and Boise Valley Traction Company, both in Boise, Idaho.
Burton's interest in military service was evident from his high school years at West Newton, where military training was part of the curriculum. He aspired to attend the United States Naval Academy but was prevented from doing so due to a slight heart murmur. Instead, he attended Bowdoin College and later Harvard Law School, but his fascination with military affairs persisted.
Anticipating the United States's involvement in World War I, Burton attended a military training camp in Salt Lake City in 1916. After the U.S. declared war in April 1917, he enlisted in the United States Army in May 1917. He attended officer training at the Presidio in San Francisco, graduating as a second lieutenant after three months.
Assigned to the 361st Infantry Regiment of the 91st Infantry Division at Camp Lewis near Tacoma, Washington, Burton commanded Company A. He trained his men rigorously, aiming for high performance standards. Burton developed a close relationship with his regimental commander, Colonel William Davis, who became a mentor to him.
In June 1918, Burton was sent to France ahead of his division to attend a field officer school. Upon completing the course, he rejoined his regiment near Saint-Mihiel in August 1918. He was appointed as the regimental operations officer, a new role responsible for ensuring that orders were effectively communicated and executed throughout the regiment.
Burton first saw combat during the Meuse–Argonne Offensive. On September 26, 1918, he and Colonel Davis left their command post to follow the first wave of the offensive. Burton was responsible for overseeing movements and maintaining communications within the regiment, often risking his life to deliver orders under heavy fire. The unit included the Cleveland Grays. During this period, he narrowly avoided several artillery attacks and once captured two German snipers despite being unarmed.
Promoted to captain, Burton also served as assistant regimental adjutant. After eight days of intense combat, the regiment was relieved on October 4, 1918. The 91st Division was then transferred to Belgium to assist French forces. During operations near Audenarde, Burton took command of the regiment's forces in the city after Colonel Davis was killed by artillery fire. He established his command post in the town hall, continuing operations despite ongoing shelling.
For his service, Burton received several decorations. He was awarded the Belgian Croix de guerre on December 17, 1918, "for extraordinary heroism and gallantry in action during the advance from the Lys to beyond the Scheldt River in the vicinity of Audenarde, Belgium." He also received a Meritorious Citation Certificate from General John J. Pershing "for exceptionally meritorious and conspicuous services during the Argonne Offensive."
After the Armistice on November 11, 1918, Burton remained in Europe for occupation duties until 1919. Upon returning to the United States, he was honorably discharged at Camp Sherman in Ohio, rejoined his family in Cleveland, resumed his law practice, and taught at Western Reserve University Law School. Continuing his military involvement, Burton served as a captain in the Ohio National Guard with the 331st Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division, for nearly two decades. In 1921, he authored the regimental history of the 361st Infantry Regiment, titled 600 Days' Service and joined several veterans' organizations, including the Army and Navy Union, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion.
In the late 1920s, Burton entered politics as a Republican. He was elected to the East Cleveland Board of Education in 1927 and to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1928. After serving briefly in the Ohio House, he became law director for the City of Cleveland in 1929 before returning to private practice in 1932.