Volume III: Biographies

BURNHAM, John M.

Business associate (1912-1915)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: John M. Burnham, a Chicago banker, was a business associate and major investor in the syndicate which purchased the Thanhouser Company from Edwin Thanhouser in 1912. With Paul Davis, he was a prime financier for the promotion and distribution of the 1914-1915 Thanhouser serial, The Million Dollar Mystery.

Biographical Notes: John M. Burnham was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 28, 1878, the son of Daniel Hudson Burnham, who was to design many of the buildings for the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. Educated at public schools in Evanston, Illinois, at the Hill School (Pottstown, Pennsylvania), and at Princeton University, John M. Burnham became a stockbroker. In 1906 he formed the partnership of Burnham & Butler, and in 1908 John M. Burnham & Co. became its successor. John M. Burnham was prominent on the Chicago banking scene for many years and was an investor and business broker in many important transactions.

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