Fonds includes documentation pertaining to the professional and private life of Professor John William Burbidge. Included are his manuscripts of books, articles, and sermons, and student papers. Also included are research materials, offprints of published articles, correspondence with publishers, personal correspondence, lecture notes relating to Professor Burbidge's teaching career at Trent University, and congratulatory letters and cards relating to his retirement from Trent University and election to the Royal Society of Canada.