Kennith H. Burns

Kennith H. Burns born 21 January 1926 (d. 2007)

Kennith H. Burns was a founding member of the Mattachine Society, one of the US's first gay rights organisations, which was founded in Los Angeles in 1950 by activist Harry Hay and others.

Born in Santa Ana, Burns grew up in Long Beach. He briefly attended USC before joining the Army and serving in the medical corps during World War II. After the war, he returned to USC to study international relations.

Instead of pursuing a career in diplomacy, he went to work for the Carnation Co. in Los Angeles as a safety engineer, eventually rising to the post of safety director. He retired from the company in the 1980s.

In 1953, when McCarthyism was strengthening its grip on the national consciousness, Hay and other Mattachine leaders with communist ties were ousted and Burns assumed a more prominent role in the organisation.

The society moved in a more conservative direction during Burns' tenure as Mattachine president in the mid- to late 1950s. Along with other Mattachine leaders, including Harold Call and Don Lucas, he urged members to temper their public image and assimilate into society.

After stepping down from his duties as head of the Mattachine Society in 1959, he remained active in the gay and lesbian community and was honoured for his contributions by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

Burns died from lung failure 16 December 2007 in Burbank, California. He was 81.