Researching John Burnham

Burnham was born at Nottingham, the son of William Burnham, a joiner and his wife Catherine. He became a clerk and in 1863 he was playing for Suffolk and in one match for an All England XI. In 1870 he played several club games for Burnley. He joined Derbyshire in the 1871 season and took part in Derbyshire's first-ever match as a county side, an innings victory over Lancashire. He played the return game later in the season, and played again for Derbyshire in the 1872 season in both fixtures between Derbyshire and Lancashire. Also in 1872 he played some games for Prince's Club in London. In the 1873 season he only played one match for Derbyshire against Lancashire. He did not play again until the 1876 season when his final match, as a first-class player, was against Kent, in which he was bowled out by Test cricketer Charlie Absolom.

Burnham was a right-handed batsman and played eleven innings in six first-class matches with an average of 5.00 and a top score of 31.In 1881 he was living at Litchurch.Burnham umpired one game during the 1879 season, three years after giving up the first-class game.

Burnham died at Derby.

Born in St. Thomas, Canada West, the son of Mark Burnham, he came to the County of Peterborough with his father in 1852, and located in the Village of Ashburnham. He received his medical education in Toronto and graduated in 1862, when he commenced practice in Ashburnham. He was a captain in the 57th Regiment of Canadian Volunteer Militia, "Peterborough Rangers".

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1878 election for the riding of Peterborough East. A Conservative, he was re-elected in the 1882 election. He was defeated in the 1887 election and was re-elected in the 1891 election. He was defeated again in the 1896 election. He was also reeve of Ashburnham Township.

In 1868, he married Maria Rogers. Burnham died in Ashburnham at the age of 56.

He was a 1941 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. In 1947, he joined the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation at Groton, Connecticut. He became design manager at Electric Boat in 1952, and was responsible for the design of Nautilus and two other nuclear-powered submarines, USS Seawolf (SSN-575) and USS Skate (SSN-578).

Between 1916 and 1918, Burnham served overseas as a captain of the 93rd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was also the author of Canadians in the Imperial Naval and Military Service Abroad.

He was re-elected in the 1917 election as a Unionist. Burham quit the government party on July 15, 1920 to sit as an Independent Conservative in protest of Arthur Meighen's attempt to make the Unionist government which had been formed during the Conscription Crisis of 1917 as a coalition of Conservatives and pro-conscription Liberals into a permanent political party, called the National Liberal and Conservative Party. Several months later he resigned his seat in the House of Commons and ran for re-election as an Independent Conservative in a February 7, 1921 by-election in hopes of demonstrating that public opinion supported him.

Burham argued that the Meighen government "is the creature of some big schemes now floating in the air and I believe it is a positive danger to Canada... I am unalterably opposed to this combination at Ottawa and will never rest until I see those who are attempting to wreck the old parties, whose backing and policies are known and understood, are themselves wrecked."

He lost the by-election and ran again as a straight Conservative in the 1921 general election in December but was again defeated. With the defeat of the Meighen government, Burnham called upon the party to hold a national leadership convention, abandon the "National Liberal and Conservative Party" concept and return to its old Conservative form.