Dr. Robert Arnold Burden was the first doctor to go underground after an explosion rocked Springhill's No. 4 mine. Born in Springhill, Dr. Burden served in the Medical Corps from 1941 to 1945, then obtained his medical degree from Dalhousie University. After practising in Prince Edward Island, he returned to Springhill in 1957, where he was chief of staff at All Saints Hospital and served on numerous medical boards and committees.