Burton was born in London on 28 March 1898, married Margaret Maclean (d 1990) in 1929 (2 sons and a daughter) and died in Albury, Surrey on 9 September 1992. He was Curator of Sponges at the British Museum of Natural History from 1927 to 1948, and Deputy Keeper of Zoology in the same institution from 1949 to 1958. His popular science writing included major work on Encyclopedias, and acting as Science Editor for the Illustrated London News and Nature Correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. In 1961 he published a book "The Elusive Monster" reviewing the evidence for the Loch Ness Monster in the light of his professional knowledge and concluding that it was unlikely that such creatures were living in Loch Ness. He also commented further on this topic in the "New Scientist". Many of Burton's books were aimed at a juvenile audience. Some of his later books or revised editions were published with his son, Robert Burton (1946-) also trained as a zoologist and who published many natural history books himself. Robert also took over his father's Nature Notes column in the Daily Telegraph. His daughter Jane Burton (1933-2007) illustrated many of the books and pursued a career as a wildlife photographer.