John Burnside (inventor)

:"For the Scottish writer (born 1955), see John Burnside".

Infobox Person
name = John Burnside


image_size = 200 px
caption =
birth_name = John Lyon Burnside III
birth_date = birth date|1916|11|2
birth_place = Seattle, Washington, United States
death_date = death date and age|2008|09|14|1916|11|2
death_place = San Francisco, California, United States
occupation = Gay rights activist, Inventor
spouse = Edith Sinclair
partner = Harry Hay (1962-2002)
parents =
children =

John Lyon Burnside III (November 2, 1916 – September 14, 2008) was the inventor of the teleidoscope and the Symmetricon [Cite book |last=Timmons |first= Stuart |authorlink=Stuart Timmons |title=The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement |year=1990 |publisher=Alyson Publications |isbn=978-1555831752 ] , and, because he rediscovered the math behind kaleidoscope optics, for decades, every maker of optically correct kaleidoscopes sold in the US paid him royalties. He was the partner of Harry Hay for 40 years, from 1962 until Hay's death in 2002. He lived in San Francisco, California, [citation |last=Cusac |first=Anne-Marie |url=http://progressive.org/mag_cusachay |date=September 1999 |periodical=The Progressive |title=Interview with Harry Hay |accessdate=2008-09-18 ] until his death from complications of brain cancer on September 14, 2008.citation |title=John Burnside dies at 91 |date=September 18, 2008 |url=http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=3326 |first=Liz |last=Highleyman |accessdate=2008-09-18 |periodical=Bay Area Reporter ]

Early life

Born in Seattle, as a child Burnside was sent to an orphanage because he was caught in sexual play with another boy.fact|date=September 2008

He served briefly in the Navy, and settled in Los Angeles in the 1940s.

Gay rights activism

Burnside and his partner Hay formed a group in the early 1960s called the Circle of Loving Companions that promoted gay rights and gay love. In 1966 they were major planners of one of the first gay parades, a protest against exclusion of homosexuals from the military, held in Los Angeles. In 1967, they appeared as a gay couple on the Joe Pyne television show.

In the late 1970s, they founded, along with Don Kilhefner and Mitch Walker, the Radical Faeries.

Personal life

Burnside married Edith Sinclair in Los Angeles, the pair had no children. Burnside later met Harry Hay in 1962 at ONE Incorporated; the two fell in love and became life partners.

John Burnside, a gay rights activist and the inventor of the teleidoscope, died Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at the age of 91.
Burnside was an early gay rights leader and even helped organize one of the original pride marches in 1970. "He was not only smart and funny and bright, he was also profoundly, at his core, a gentle man and all that that implies." [http://www.queerty.com/john-burnside-gay-activist-inventor-dies-at-91-20080918/]

References

External links

*imdb name|id=1892431|name=John Burnside

Published Obituaries

Los Angeles Times obituary

[http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-burnside18-2008sep18,0,699210.story]

Bay Area Reporter obituary

[http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=3326]

White Crane Blog

[http://whitecrane.typepad.com/gaywisdom/2008/09/rest-in-peace-.html]

San Francisco Bay Times

[http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=9021]

Gay City News

[http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20127430&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568862&rfi=6]

Queensland News

[http://qlp.e-p.net.au/news/radical-faery-takes-flight-at-91-2244.html]