He was born at
Edinburgh, Scotland in
1643, the son of
Robert Burnet, Lord Crimond, a
Royalist and
Episcopalian lawyer, who became a
judge, and of Rachel Johnston, the sister of
Johnston of Warristoun, a leader of the
Covenanters. His father was his first tutor until he began his studies at the
University of Aberdeen, where he earned a
Master of Arts in
Philosophy at the age of thirteen. He studied law briefly before changing to
theology, and earned his
Doctor of Divinity by the age of eighteen. He did not enter into the ministry at that time, but traveled for several years. He visited
Oxford, Cambridge, London, the
United Provinces and
France. He studied Hebrew under a
Rabbi in
Amsterdam. By
1665 he returned to Scotland and was ordained by the Bishop of Edinburgh.
He began his ministry in the rural church at
Saltoun, East Lothian, and served this community devoutly for four years. In
1669, without his asking or even consent, he was named to the vacant chair of Divinity at the
University of Glasgow. At first he declined, since his congregation unanimously asked him to remain. But, when
Bishop of Edinburgh Leighton urged him, he accepted the post.
With the unsettled political times, he left the
University in
1674 and moved to
London. In London, his political and religious sentiments prompted him to support the
Whigs. His energetic and bustling character led him to take an active part in the controversies of the time, and he endeavoured to bring about a reconciliation between Episcopacy and
Presbytery. Going to London he was in some favour with
Charles II, from whom he received various preferments.
His literary reputation was greatly enhanced by the publication in
1679 of the first volume of his
History of the Reformation of the Church of England, for which he received the thanks of the
Parliament of England, and which was completed by other two volumes, in
1682 and
1714. For over a century this was the standard reference work in the field, although
Catholics disputed some of its content.
On account of a letter of reproof which he ventured to write to the King, he lost favour at Court, and the policy pursued by
James II being very repugnant to him, he betook himself in
1687 to the
United Provinces, where he became one of the advisers of the
Prince of Orange. Returning to the
Kingdom of England at the
Glorious Revolution, he was made
Bishop of Salisbury, which office he adorned by liberal views and a zealous discharge of duty.
The work by which his fame is chiefly sustained, his
History of my Own Times, was, by his direction, not to be published until 6 years after his death. It appeared in
1723. It gives a sketch of the history of the
English Civil War and the
Commonwealth of England, and a detailed account of the immediately succeeding period down to
1713. While not free from egotism and some party feeling, it is written with a sincere desire for accuracy and fairness, and it has largely the authority of an eye-witness. The style, if somewhat lacking in dignity, is lively and picturesque. The strength of this work was such that it has had modern (although abridged) reprints as
The History of His Own Times. Among his other writings are a
History of the Dukes of Hamilton, and an
Exposition of the 39 Articles.
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