Burton

any of various small tackles for use on shipboard.
Spanish burton.
go for a burton, British Slang.

to be lost, missing, or destroyed.
to die.

Harold Hitz
[hits] /hɪts/ (Show IPA), 1888–1964, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1945–58.
Sir Richard (Richard Jenkins) 1925–84, English actor, born in Wales.
Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, Orientalist, and writer.
Robert (“Democritus Junior”) 1577–1640, English clergyman and author.
a town in central Michigan.
a male given name.
Contemporary Examples

Tim Burton Talks ‘Big Eyes,’ His Taste For the Macabre, and the ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Marlow Stern December 16, 2014
Richard Burton’s Diaries Reveal His Mad Love for Elizabeth Taylor Daphne Merkin November 2, 2012
Mrs. Manson, Hometown Antihero Justin Glawe November 23, 2014
Super 8 Video Gallery June 9, 2011
‘Liz & Dick’: 8 Crazy Scenes from Lindsay Lohan’s Elizabeth Taylor Biopic Jace Lacob June 13, 2012

Historical Examples

Baseball Joe, Captain of the Team Lester Chadwick
The Tinted Venus F. Anstey
Oxford Frederick Douglas How
Owen Clancy’s Happy Trail Burt L. Standish
The Camp Fire Girls in Glorious France Margaret Vandercook

noun
(nautical) a kind of light hoisting tackle
(Brit, slang) go for a burton

to be broken, useless, or lost
to die

noun
Sir Richard Francis. 1821–90, English explorer, Orientalist, and writer who discovered Lake Tanganyika with John Speke (1858); produced the first unabridged translation of The Thousand Nights and a Night (1885–88)
Richard, real name Richard Jenkins. 1925–84, Welsh stage and film actor: films include Becket (1964), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and Equus (1977)
Robert, pen name Democritus Junior. 1577–1640, English clergyman, scholar, and writer, noted for his Anatomy of Melancholy (1621)
Tim. born 1958, US film director whose work includes Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Corpse Bride (2005), and Alice in Wonderland (2010)