Burns, Arthur F.

Burns, Arthur F.

(1904–87) economist; born in Stanislau, Austria. He came to the U.S.A. at the age of ten and went on to receive his university degrees from Columbia University, later teaching there (1933–62). He was a leading expert on business cycles and coauthored Measuring Business Cycles (1946) with W. C. Mitchell. He served as an economic adviser to Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon before holding the influential position of chairman of the Federal Reserve (1970–78). He also served as the U.S. ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (1981–85).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.