George P. Burdell is a fictitious student officially enrolled at Georgia Tech in 1927 as a practical joke. Since then, he has received several degrees, served in the military, gotten married, served on Mad magazine's Board of Directors, among other accomplishments.

Burdell at one point even led the online poll for Time's 2001 Person of the Year award. He has evolved into an important and notorious campus tradition; all Georgia Tech students learn about him at orientation. The credit for George P.

Burdell's origins go to William Edgar "Ed" Smith, BS 1930. Ed conceived the idea for Burdell when he received two Georgia Tech enrollment forms. In a 1977 Atlanta Newspaper interview, Smith said that he originally intended to enroll his ARC (Academy of Richmond County - Augusta, Georgia) high school principal, George P.

Butler. He decided against it and changed the last name to Burdell, the maiden name of his best friend's mother. After enrolling him, Smith signed Burdell up for all the same classes he had.

Smith would do all schoolwork twice, changing it slightly to avoid professors catching his sham. When he had a test, he would take it twice and then turn it in under both names. By 1930 George had earned his bachelor's, and only a few years later received his master's degree.

He became an official alumnus, even though his name has remained on the active student rolls ever since. In 1930, Burdell was admitted to the ANAK Society, Georgia Tech's oldest secret society. One of the first pranks to use George's name came after someone was snubbed by a fraternity he had intended to join.

"That irritated [him]. He went out and ordered a truckload of furniture to be delivered c.o.d. to that fraternity. Of course, the order was made by George P.

Burdell."

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