Charles Burton Fahs was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 8, 1908. His parents, Sophia (Sophie) Lyon Fahs and Charles Harvey Fahs, who went by Harvey, raised Burton and his sisters Dorothy, Ruth (who died in childhood), and Lois in Brooklyn, New Jersey, and California. Harvey traveled a great deal for his job and was often absent from the family home, leaving Sophie to raise the children on her own. The Fahs parents encouraged exploration and independent thinking among their children and were a very close-knit family, despite Harvey's lengthy absences.

Following the Fahs family tradition, Burton attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois for his undergraduate study, majoring in political science. He also displayed a keen interest for international studies and comparative politics, and he pursued these interests in class as well as in his extracurricular activities, primarily through his membership in the Institute for Oriental Students. Here he met many international students, engaged in discussions and debates over current events, and began to explore diverse cultures through the life experiences of other students.

Burton completed his undergraduate studies in 1929 and traveled to Europe for the summer. During the 1929-1930 school year, he attended the University of Berlin and enriched his language skills. Burton also attended a variety of German student political meetings, furthering his interest in current events and political systems.

For the 1930-1931 school year, Burton returned to Northwestern to begin his graduate studies. Burton met Jamie Ross sometime during this period, and they became engaged in 1931 after Burton completed his master's thesis and exams. Jamie had been raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado and had come to Northwestern for a master's degree in Classics. She remained in Evanston after the completion of her degree and worked as a Latin instructor during the couple's courtship and early marriage. Burton and Jamie were married in Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 27, 1932.

Burton continued his studies during the early years of their marriage, receiving his PhD in 1933 and embarking on three years of study in Japanese language, culture, and politics, first in Paris and then in Kyoto and Tokyo. Jamie traveled with her husband during these years, and the two lived frugally but comfortably on Burton's fellowship stipend. During the year in Paris, Burton and Jamie met Edwin O. Reischauer, a lifelong friend and the American Ambassador to Japan during Burton's employment at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. In 1935, their son James Harvey Fahs was born in Kyoto.

In 1937, the Fahs family returned to the United States and Burton began his academic career as an instructor, and later an assistant professor, at Pomona College in Claremont, California. The family planned for an eighteen month sabbatical in Japan and China for 1940-1941, but their plans abruptly changed with the imminent threat of war. After arriving in Japan, it was decided that Jamie and Jimmie should return to the U.S. while Burton would continue on to China, where he stayed for several months before rejoining his family in California.

Burton took a leave of absence from Pomona and joined the Office of Strategic Services in the fall of 1941. The family relocated to the Washington, D.C. area, where daughter Barbara Ruth was born in 1943. Burton remained with OSS for the duration of the war, eventually being promoted to Chief of the Research and Analysis Division (Far East). Between October 1944 and February 1945, Burton traveled to China, Burma, and India to assess various overseas research units.

At the conclusion of World War II, Burton resigned from Pomona College. Within a year, he also resigned from the Department of State (where the Research and Analysis Division had been transferred at the conclusion of the war) to accept a position with the Rockefeller Foundation as Assistant Director in the Humanities Division. In 1950, Burton was appointed Director of the Humanities Division. The Fahs family lived in Fair Lawn, New Jersey during this period. Jamie was elected to the local school board and became involved in Girl Scouts. Burton traveled a great deal for his job with the Rockefeller Foundation, often visiting other parts of the U.S. or foreign countries for 4-6 week periods.

In 1961, Burton resigned from the Rockefeller Foundation. By 1962, he was appointed Minister-Counselor for Cultural and Public Affairs in the Embassy of the United States in Tokyo, Japan. This appointment was unique and created specifically to match Burton's educational background and talents. The intervention of friends like Dean Rusk and Edwin Reischauer smoothed the way for the creation of this position. Burton and Jamie returned to Tokyo, and both were extremely busy with diplomatic duties and the attendant expectations and social obligations which accompany such a position. During this time, both of their children married; Barbara had her ceremony in Tokyo.

Burton remained with the Embassy in Tokyo until 1967, and once again the Fahses returned to the United States. Burton accepted a one year academic position as Harry C. Trexler Distinguished Visiting Professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The following year, Burton was appointed Director of International Studies at Miami University in Miami, Ohio. He and Jamie moved to Oxford, Ohio and settled into a new home. Jamie returned to academic life as well, tutoring students in Latin.

Burton and Jamie retired from Miami University in 1973, traveling internationally in their retirement and spending time with their growing family. Burton continued his work with Grolier, Inc. during this time, beginning a project to publish a set of encyclopedias in Japanese. This project would ultimately be abandoned.

Beginning in 1975, Burton experienced serious health problems related to terminal illness. He kept his illness at bay for several years, but his health began to fail significantly in late 1979. It was also this year that marks the presentation of two significant awards, an honorary degree from Miami University and the Japan Foundation Award. Despite his declining health, special arrangements were made so that Burton could travel to Japan to accept this award. Jamie, Jim, and Barbara accompanied him for this momentous occasion.

Charles Burton Fahs died on February 26, 1980 at the age of 71. A memorial service was held at the Sesquicentennial Chapel at Miami University on March 1, and Burton's ashes were interred in the Oxford Cemetery on August 24 of the same year.