Burney, Charles, 1726–1814, English music historian, composer, and organist. His General History of Music (1776–89; 2d ed. 1935) was one of the first important music histories in English. He wrote The Present State of Music in France and Italy (1771) and The Present State of Music in Germany (1773). They were published together as Dr. Burney's Musical Tours in Europe (1959). The work describes European society, life, and customs as well as music and important musicians. His daughter, Fanny Burney, compiled his memoirs (1832).
See biographies by P. A. Scholes (1848) and R. H. Lonsdale (1965).
