Temple Burling Papers

Temple Burling (1896-1975)

Temple Burling was a member of the faculty of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations from 1948 until his retirement in 1964. During the first two years he served half-time in the mental health program of Gannett Clinic, later continuing to practice psychotherapy there for one afternoon a week. Dr. Burling was a pioneer in the field of industrial psychiatry. With R. H. Macy and Company (1937-40), he was the first psychiatrist to serve full time on the staff of a business or industrial firm. During this same period he was publishing the first articles outlining how the psychiatrist could ease the emotional tensions people encounter in work situations. At Cornell he succeeded Alexander H. Leighton as the director of the ILR Industrial Psychiatry Program. This program provided young psychiatrists with internships in industry, under the guidance of the director and in consultation with other faculty members.

Dr. Burling is survived by his wife, Mrs. Katherine Burling of Trumansburg; a daughter, Helen Ottaway of Johnson City; two sons, Robbins Burling of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and James Burling of Oswego; seven grandchildren; a sister, Helen Kronwall of Tucson, Arizona; and a cousin, Edward Burling of Washington, D.C., Douglas Darling, Alpheus W. Smith, William F. Whyte, Cornell University.