Governor of Massachusetts.

Qualified as a lawyer in England. Governor of New York and New Jersey (1720-28); attempted to suppress French influence among the Indians and divert the fur trade from Montreal to Albany. Governor of Massachusetts (1728-29); his brief term was dominated by a dispute with the Assembly over his salary.

Son of Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, and Mary (Scott) Burnet; godson of William III and Mary II of England. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Married a daughter of Dean Stanhope. Married Anna Maria Van Horne; three children.