Background
He was graduated from Saint Mark"s School, Southboro, Massachusetts, which had been founded by his father Joseph Burnett in 1867 and from Harvard University in 1871.
United States representative politician
He was graduated from Saint Mark"s School, Southboro, Massachusetts, which had been founded by his father Joseph Burnett in 1867 and from Harvard University in 1871.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Burnett attended Saint Paul"s School.
He engaged in agricultural pursuits near Southboro, Massachusetts. He was among the breeders who were originators of the Boston Terrier. Burnett was elected as a Democrat to the Fiftieth Congress (March 4, 1887-March 3, 1889).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1888 to the Fifty-first Congress.
He served as general manager of Florham Farm the property of Hamilton McKown Twombly and Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly in what is now Florham Park, near Madison, New Jersey from 1892 to 1900. He became engaged as a farm architect in New York City from 1900 to 1925.
He died in Milton, Massachusetts, November 5, 1925. He was interred in Saint Mark"s Churchyard, Southboro, Massachusetts.
He was an early member of the Tavern Club founded mostly by fellow Harvard alumni.