Major Sir John Alder Burdon (1866-1933) was Governor-General of British Honduras

British Honduras

British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...

 (now Belize

Belize

Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

) from 1925 to 1932. He also wrote Brief Sketch of British Honduras, Past, Present and Future (1927).

Born 23 Aug 1866 in Beijing, China, he was the son of Bishop John Shaw Burdon

John Shaw Burdon

John Shaw Burdon was a British Christian missionary to China with the Church Mission Society. Burdon was ordained to the priesthood by the Bishop of London in December 1852. He opposed Britain's part in the Opium Wars in China. In March 1874 he was consecrated bishop of the South China Diocese of...

 and Phoebe Esther Alder. He was educated in England, enlisting in the British Military in 1888 and serving in Nigeria. By 1910 he was the Colonial Secretary of Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

(Acting Governor 1910-11), and married Katherine Janet Sutherland 17 December 1910. He then served as Administrator of St. Kitts (1916-1925) before his appointment as Governor-General of British Honduras from 1925 to 1932.