Thomas Burton may not look, talk, act or think like the typical NIU student, but that’s because he’s anything but “typical.” Burton has accomplished something few of his peers would even consider attempting.

Burton, at the age of 70, received his doctorate in history from NIU this summer. The former Marine said his academic motivation was pure, old-fasioned, intellectual stimulation and that he simply has a strong “desire for knowledge.” The 27-year Wheaton resident calls his educational quest “life-long learning.”

To Burton, the myth that older folks cannot experience life to its fullest extent because of their age is “foolish and inaccurate.”

“Good health is a terribly important aspect in determining one’s limitations,” he said. The grandfather of seven doesn’t drink alcohol or smoke, and he exercises regularly.

Burton was first “turned-on” to his major by his high school history teacher. Despite his passion for history, Burton majored in business because he “had to do something for a living.” He graduated from Baylor University in 1939 before embarking on 21 years of service in the United States Marine Corps.

Marine life taught Burton “how to get along with others, which is an invaluable asset. It also taught me self-discipline and to subordinate my own needs to the needs of others,” he said. He retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel, having seen the world “from China to the Mediterranean and from New Foundland to Cuba.”

“Of course, there is no single perfect society in existence. But the United States comes the closest. Nowhere else do people have such freedom of mind, spirit, religion or press,” he explained.

Burton started his formal study of history in the Armed Forces. “It was the 1950’s in the Far East,” he recalled. “Right after the Korean War, things were real quiet. So I decided to take some correspondence courses.”

He studied from abroad until his retirement from the Marines in 1961 and then worked for Wheaton College for 18 years as a business manager and later as an investment manager. Burton entered NIU’s graduate school in 1978 and got his master’s degree in history in 1981.

“The teaching staff of the graduate history department here (at NIU) is top-notch,” Burton said. “It’s certainly equivalent to that of the University of Chicago or any other top private school in the nation.”

History professor Charles George described Burton as “a star in every seminar” but “extraordinarily modest.”

But Burton is not proud of his accomplishments. “I am pleased with what I’ve done,” he said, “but I think it’s a real hazard for someone to walk around being proud of himself.”

The major difference between education today and when he started school is financial, he said. “It’s much easier for students to pay for their education today through student loans, which weren’t available in my time. There are also many more people attending college now than there ever were before. Higher education has become commonplace.”

But he said the quality of today’s academic curriculum is not quite as rigid as it should be. “Any educational routine ought to be demanding,” he insisted.

With his new degree, the man who said he derives his greatest satisfaction from his family “won’t do anything except for write an article or two for the trade journals and attend some history conferences with my wife.”

“I’m content. I wouldn’t want to go back and live it all over again. The country’s not at war right now and there’s no depression. Times are good.”