George P. Burdell

George P. Burdell is a fictitious student officially enrolled at Georgia Tech in 1927 as a practical joke. Since then, he has supposedly received all undergraduate degrees offered by Georgia Tech, served in the military, gotten married, and has served on Mad Magazine's Board of Directors, among other accomplishments.

At one point, Burdell had led the online poll for Time's 2001 Person of the Year award. He has evolved into an important and notorious campus tradition; all Georgia Tech students learn about him at orientation.

History

Origins

George P. Burdell was created by William Edgar "Ed" Smith (BS in Ceramic Engineering) in 1927. Smith conceived the idea for Burdell when he mistakenly received two Georgia Tech enrollment forms. 50 years later, in a 1977 Atlanta newspaper interview, Smith said that he originally intended to enroll his Academy of Richmond County principal, George P. Butler, but instead changed the last name to Burdell, the maiden name of his best friend's mother.

After enrolling him, Smith signed Burdell up for all the same classes he had. With the help of friends, Smith would do all schoolwork twice, changing it slightly to avoid professors catching his sham. When he had a test, he would take it twice and then turn it in under both names. By 1930, the school had awarded Burdell a bachelor's degree, and a few years later awarded the fictitious student a master's degree. The college listed him as an official alumnus, even though his name has remained on the active student rolls. In 1930, the ANAK Society, Georgia Tech's oldest secret society, offered Burdell membership.