David G. Burnet

David G. Burnet
David G. Burnet
President of Texas Interim
In office March 17, 1836 – October 22, 1836
Vice President	Lorenzo de Zavala
Succeeded by	Sam Houston
2nd Vice President of Texas
In office December 31, 1838 – December 13, 1841
President	Mirabeau B. Lamar
Preceded by	Mirabeau B. Lamar
Succeeded by	Edward Burleson
Secretary of State of Texas
In office May 4, 1846 – January 1, 1848
Preceded by	Charles Mariner
Succeeded by	Washington D. Miller
Personal details
Born	April 14, 1788 Newark, New Jersey
Died	December 5, 1870(1870-12-05) (aged 82) Galveston, Texas

David Gouverneur Burnet (April 14, 1788 – December 5, 1870) was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas (1836 and again in 1841), second Vice President of the Republic of Texas (1839–41), and Secretary of State (1846) for the new state of Texas after it was annexed to the United States of America.

Burnet was born in Newark, New Jersey, and attended law school in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a young man, he lived with a Comanche tribe for a year before returning to Ohio. In 1806 Burnet volunteered to serve the unsuccessful filibustering expeditions led by general Francisco de Miranda for the independence of Venezuela from Spain. He fought in Chile in 1807 and in Venezuela in 1808. After Miranda broke with Simon Bolivar, Burnet returned to the United States in 1812. In 1826, he moved to Stephen F. Austin's colony in Mexican Texas. He received a land grant as an empresario but was forced to sell the land after failing to attract enough settlers to his colony, and later lost his right to operate a sawmill after he refused to convert to Roman Catholicism.

On hearing of William Barret Travis's plea for help at the Alamo, Burnet traveled to Washington-on-the-Brazos to recruit help from the Convention of 1836. He remained at the convention and was elected interim president on March 17, 1836. On his orders, the government fled Washington-on-the-Brazos for Harrisburg, thus inspiring the Runaway Scrape. Burnet narrowly avoided capture by Mexican troops the following month. After Sam Houston's victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, Burnet took custody of Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna and negotiated the Treaties of Velasco. Many Texans were infuriated that the treaty allowed Santa Anna to escape execution, and some people called for Burnet's arrest for treason. Burnet declined to run for president and resigned as interim president on October 22, 1836.