Statue of Edmund Burke (Washington, D.C.)

Edmund Burke is a bronze, full-length statue of British statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher Edmund Burke, created by British artist James Havard Thomas. The statue in Washington, D.C., is a cast of the original in Bristol, England. In Washington, it stands in Burke Park at the intersection of 11th Street, L Street, and Massachusetts Avenue NW, on the southern border of the Shaw neighborhood. The statue was a gift from Charles Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield, on behalf of the Sulgrave Institution, an organization that promoted United Kingdom–United States relations by exchanging statues and busts between the two countries.

Burke was an influential philosopher and intellectual. After working as a private secretary for Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Burke was elected to the House of Commons, where he would often give powerful speeches during his 30-year tenure. During the lead-up to the American Revolutionary War, he often spoke about the hardships Britain imposed on the Thirteen Colonies. Burke feared if a war took place, Britain would lose. Following the British defeat, Burke attempted to mend the relationship with the newly formed United States by promoting peace treaties and trade.

The statue of Burke is 8 feet tall (2.4 m) and stands on a pedestal designed by Horace Peaslee. It was formally dedicated in October 1922. The statue is one of 14 sculptures in the American Revolution Statuary in Washington, D.C., that were collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites the following year. The statue is a contributing property to the L'Enfant Plan and the Mount Vernon West Historic District, also known as the Shaw Historic District.