Burns, Arthur Frank, 1904–87, American economist, b. Austria, grad. Columbia Univ. (A.B., 1925; A.M., 1925; Ph.D., 1934). He taught economics at Rutgers Univ. (1927–44), and then joined (1944) the faculty of Columbia, where he became John Bates Clark professor of economics in 1959. A member of the National Bureau of Economic Research from 1933, he was director of research (1945–53) and president (1957–67) of that organization. Under President Eisenhower, Burns was chairman (1953–56) of the Council of Economic Advisers. He returned to government service as economic counselor (1969–70) to President Nixon. As chairman (1970–78) of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System, he advocated fiscal and monetary restraint. He later (1981–85) served as ambassador to West Germany.
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