Origin Story
When applying for enrollment to Georgia Tech in 1927, William Edgar “Ed” Smith was accidentally given two enrollment forms. Smith was graduating high school from Richmond Academy in Augusta, Ga. The principal of the Richmond Academy at the time was a man by the name of George P. Butler.
Major Butler (as he was known by the students) was a dyed-in-the-wool UGA fan. In fact, he had been the captain of the UGA football team during one of their earliest games against Tech (1893), which began the rivalry between the schools and was the genesis for some of Tech’s traditions. Suffice to say, Major Butler strongly disliked Georgia Tech and actively recruited his students to go to UGA. Not surprisingly, when a young man like Smith, who had designs to go to Georgia Tech, was met with Butler’s insistence that UGA would be a better choice, he was itching for a chance to push back against his principal.
So, with an extra enrollment form for Georgia Tech in hand, Smith decided to play a little prank on George P. Butler and fill out one form for himself and the other for his principal. At the last moment he had second thoughts. He had gotten as far as George P. B-U-… but thought he may end up getting in trouble and decided to change the name to Burdell instead (the maiden name of his friend’s mother).
After both Smith and Burdell were officially enrolled, Smith decided to carry on with his prank and registered Burdell for all the same classes as himself. With the help of a few of his friends who also came to Tech from Richmond Academy, Smith made sure to turn in all of Burdell’s assignments and take all of Burdell’s tests, while being careful to mix up some of the answers and even change his handwriting so none of the professors would catch on.
In 1930, Smith received a bachelor's degree from Georgia Tech. Funny enough, so did George P. Burdell! Smith and his friends shared this secret with those they trusted and Burdell went on to register for classes and earn other degrees behind the back of the administration (known as “The Hill”). Through the years the students would continually invoke Burdell’s name to pull one over on their professors.
Ostensibly, Burdell was created as an expression of the innate desire for students to learn from and surpass the teachings of their educators. Tech has historically been a “tough” academic school based in no small part to the fact that the professors challenged their students to extremes. Naturally, the Tech student would rise to this challenge in creative ways to solve evermore difficult problems. Burdell embodies their desire to do so while also thumbing their nose along the way back at “The Hill”.
Official Degrees Earned
According to the Registrar’s office and the Library Archives, Burdell received a Bachelor of Science in 1930 and a Master of Science in 1971.
Famous Burdell Stories
Burdell's Revenge – In 1928, after being snubbed by a fraternity he had intended to join, Burdell was irritated and ordered a truckload of furniture to be delivered “Cash On Delivery” to that fraternity.
WWII B-17 Bomber Pilot – Many Tech students left their studies to enlist and so did Burdell. His name appeared in the flight crew of a B-17 bomber, flying 12 missions over Europe with the 8th Air Force in England. That is until a Tech graduate became the new operations officer, recognized the name on the flight log, and ended the charade.
Computerization prank – In the 1960s, Tech updated their registration system to be all computerized. The administration thought the new technology would make it harder for students to enroll Burdell in classes. Not to go down without a fight, Burdell figured out how to use the new computerized registration system to register for over 3,000 hours.
Time Magazine – When Time magazine was attempting to select their "Person of the Year" for 2001, they opted to conduct their poll online, where users could write in candidates. Burdell garnered over 36% of the vote. The next closest candidate was George W. Bush with 4.2% of the votes. The magazine editors caught on to the prank and after a few days, with more than 85,000 votes for him, Burdell was pulled from the poll and the then-U.S. President took the honor.
Burdell in Space – Many Tech students have gone on to work in the space industry in various capacities. They are eager to include Burdell’s name on many endeavors including, but not limited to, engraving Burdell’s name on the Prox-1 satellite mission (which was designed and built by the school of Aerospace Engineering at Tech). The satellite was part of the Space Test Program 2 launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket in 2019.
40 Under 40 - Burdell was selected as a member of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association's
inaugural class of 40 Under 40 in 2020.
Common Burdell “Sightings”
Burdell often writes letters to the editors of local publications. Typically, these are found in the
Technique and
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Burdell’s name is often heard being paged at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and at sporting events (usually over unsuspecting PA systems at away games). Burdell’s signature frequently appears in guest books at weddings and other events.
