caption death_date death_place birth_place birth_date image article_title
burns in the early 1920s 17 march 1955 los angeles , california knoxville , iowa 12 january 1876 burns robert 1923 . tiff robert l. burns

robert l. burns

robert l. burns -lrb- january 12 , 1876 -- march 17 , 1955 -rrb- was a los angeles school board member between 1923 and 1929 and los angeles city council member between 1929 and 1945 .
he previously was on the school board in hutchinson , kansas .
at his death in 1955 , he was described as los angeles 's `` elder statesman . ''
