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Burbank, city, Los Angeles county, California, U.S., in the San Fernando Valley. It was once part of Rancho San Rafael and La Providencia, which were originally formed from land grants made by the Spanish government. The city is named for David Burbank, a Los Angeles dentist who had established a sheep ranch there in 1867; he also sold a right-of-way to the Southern Pacific Railroad and thereby enabled the railroad to reach the area in 1874, after which the city began to grow. Burbank was laid out in 1887 by the Providencia Land, Water and Development Company. An early truck-manufacturing and motion-picture centre, it experienced rapid growth during the 1940s with the urban expansion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the development of the Lockheed aircraft and aerospace industries. The Walt Disney Company, Warner Brothers, and the National Broadcasting Company maintain television and movie studios in Burbank. The city is the seat of Woodbury University (founded 1884). Inc. city, 1911. Pop. (2000) 100,316; (2010) 103,340.
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