Colonel Wainwright Montgomery Burns (or Colonel Burns) was the father of Clifford Burns, and paternal grandfather of Charles Montgomery Burns. Wainwright forcibly adopted his grandson Charles, and transformed Charles from a carefree boy into a miserly and cynical man. Many of Charles Montgomery's cold-hearted characteristics are noticeable in Wainwright as well.
Biography[]
Wainwright Montgomery Burns was born in the 1800s to the Burns family. Due to his upper-class upbringing, Wainwright grew to be a racist and villainous man. His unnamed assistant, who was shown in his manor house, is possibly an ancestor to Waylon Smithers. Wainwright was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's character Simon Legree. She was later asked to tone down the character.[1] In 1860, he owned a large plantation and also held a slave named Virgil who is directly related to Homer Simpson and his family. However, when Virgil was freed by the abolitionist Simpson family, Wainwright (known at the time as Colonel Burns) tracked him down to Hiram Simpson's cottage. He bribed Hiram with a pair of new shoes, and found Virgil in the tulip shed. However, Virgil was protected by Mabel Simpson. He was then threatened at gunpoint that if Colonel Burns ever crossed their ranch again, she would shoot him. A shaken Burns walked away the scene. [2]
Years later, he went onto have a son Clifford, who was much different than him even calling his father a twisted billionaire. However, Clifford still had some evil tendencies as an adult. Burns later became a grandfather to the many children born to his son
In 1909, he took young Charles on a tour of the Springfield Power Works.[3]
Behind the Laughter[]
While there are no direct contradictions between the names of Burns family members seen in The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album and C. Montgomery Burns' Handbook of World Domination, Handbook of World Domination adds that Colonel Burns is not Charles Montgomery Burns' father (as depicted in "The Color Yellow"), but his grandfather Wainwright. Handbook of World Domination also revises Wainwright's appearance to more closely resemble Colonel Burns in "The Color Yellow", which aired 19 years after the Family Album was released. No televised episode identifies Burns' father or grandfather by name.
Appearances[]
Episode – "Last Exit to Springfield" (1909 flashback)- Episode – "The Color Yellow"
- Book – The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album
- Book – C. Montgomery Burns' Handbook of World Domination
Gallery[]
