Remembering those we recently lost
Sarah Collins planted a tree in their memory
Key moments and achievements from John Burns's life.
John was born
· Cambridge, England
Career Start
John Burns began his journalism career in 1971 at The Globe and Mail in Toronto, covering Beijing, China. His posting to China launched him to international prominence and demonstrated the fearless reporting style that would define his four-decade career as a foreign correspondent.
Career Start
John Burns began his journalism career in 1971 at The Globe and Mail in Toronto, covering Beijing, China. His posting to China launched him to international prominence and demonstrated the fearless reporting style that would define his four-decade career as a foreign correspondent.
Career Milestone
Burns joined The New York Times in 1975, beginning a relationship with the paper that would span the next four decades. Known as the 'consummate Foreign Desk fireman,' he earned a reputation for quickly getting to breaking news stories across the world, reporting from conflict zones including South Africa, the Soviet Union, India, Pakistan, and London.
Career Milestone
Burns joined The New York Times in 1975, beginning a relationship with the paper that would span the next four decades. Known as the 'consummate Foreign Desk fireman,' he earned a reputation for quickly getting to breaking news stories across the world, reporting from conflict zones including South Africa, the Soviet Union, India, Pakistan, and London.
Won Award
Burns received his first Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1993 for his courageous coverage of the strife and destruction in Bosnia during the Yugoslav Wars. His reporting from besieged Sarajevo brought the human cost of the conflict to a global audience.
Won Award
Burns received his first Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1993 for his courageous coverage of the strife and destruction in Bosnia during the Yugoslav Wars. His reporting from besieged Sarajevo brought the human cost of the conflict to a global audience.
Won Award
Burns won his second Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1997 for his reporting on Afghanistan's Taliban fighters. The rare distinction of two Pulitzer Prizes placed him among the most celebrated foreign correspondents in American journalism history.
Won Award
Burns won his second Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1997 for his reporting on Afghanistan's Taliban fighters. The rare distinction of two Pulitzer Prizes placed him among the most celebrated foreign correspondents in American journalism history.
Career Milestone
Burns served as chief of The New York Times' Baghdad bureau from 2004 to 2007, leading coverage of the Iraq War from one of the most dangerous postings in journalism. His reporting from Iraq continued his lifelong commitment to bearing witness to conflict at great personal risk.
Career Milestone
Burns served as chief of The New York Times' Baghdad bureau from 2004 to 2007, leading coverage of the Iraq War from one of the most dangerous postings in journalism. His reporting from Iraq continued his lifelong commitment to bearing witness to conflict at great personal risk.
Career Milestone
From 2007 to 2013, Burns served as The New York Times' London bureau chief, capping his career with a prestigious posting in one of the paper's most important foreign bureaus. The London assignment represented the culmination of a career that had taken him to virtually every major conflict zone on the planet.
Career Milestone
From 2007 to 2013, Burns served as The New York Times' London bureau chief, capping his career with a prestigious posting in one of the paper's most important foreign bureaus. The London assignment represented the culmination of a career that had taken him to virtually every major conflict zone on the planet.
John Burns passed away
