Burke was born in Keokuk County, Iowa and moved to the Dakota Territory. After North Dakota was admitted to the union, he served in the state's House of Representatives in 1891 and in its Senate from 1893 to 1896. He served three terms (1907-1913) as a Democratic governor at a time when the North Dakota Republican Party had little practical opposition. He ran for the United States Senate in 1916 but lost. From 1913 to 1921 Burke was Treasurer of the United States, under President Woodrow Wilson. He later served as a justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court from 1924 until his death on May 14 1937. Burke County, North Dakota is named in his honor.

A statue of John Burke was placed in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol by the state of North Dakota in 1963.

External links

• National Statuary Hall Collection includes biography and photo of statue.

Treasurers of the United States | North Dakota Supreme Court justices | Governors of North Dakota | North Dakota State Senators | Members of the North Dakota House of Representatives | 1859 births | 1937 deaths