James Burney was born on June 13, 1750, in London, England, the son of the composer and music scholar Charles Burney (1726-1814) and his first wife, Esther Sleepe (c. 1725–1762), the brother of correspondent Susanna Burney (1755-1800), schoolmaster and scholar Charles Burney (1757-1817), the novelist and diarist Frances “Fanny” Burney (1752-1840) and half-brother of the novelist Sarah Burney (1772-1844).

He was an English Rear-Admiral and author. At the age of ten, he was sent to sea to act as a captain's servant on Princess Amelia. By the age of fifteen, he was a midshipman on the Aquilon. He spent most of his life sailing the seas on various ships. Burney accompanied Captain Cook on his last two voyages and witnessed Cook's killing in Hawaii in 1779. At the end of 1784, he fell seriously ill and departed for England. He became a prolific naval author. His first project was to edit an edition of William Bligh's A Voyage to the South Sea in HMS Bounty (1792). His major work was A Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean, published in five volumes (1803-1817). In 1809, Burney was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

In 1785, he married Sarah "Sally" Payne (1752–1832). He died on November 17, 1821, in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, England.

Sophia Elizabeth Burney was born on September 26, 1777, in Bath, Middlesex, England, the niece of Frances "Fanny" Burney (1752-1840), a novelist, and Susanna Elizabeth Burney (1755-1800), a letter and journal writer.

As a young girl, she received letters of encouragement to write from her celebrated aunt Frances who acted as mentor to a protégée who shared her sense of fun and was described as “a merry little thing” as a child. Sophia Elizabeth was the author of short pieces of poetry, drama, and prose, e.g., "The works of Sophia Elizabeth Burney, aged 13. Novels, plays and poems: Written for the instruction of young people and humbly dedicated without permission to Mrs. D'Arblay [Fanny Burney], Vol. I." and “The History of Walter Scarecrow.” Her work is similar to Frances Burney’s writing, as issues of gender and class predominate, and both show characters trying to rise above their class. Although Sophia Elizabeth is not known to have published any of her work, she continued writing into adulthood (some of her later poems survived in manuscript). Both she and her sister Frances were later employed as governesses and wrote for their pupils.

She died in September 1856 in London, England.

Susanna Elizabeth Burney, later known as Susan Phillips, was born on January 7, 1755, in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England, the daughter of Dr. Charles Burney (1726–1814), an organist and music historian who published books on the music of France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany.

She was an English letter and journal writer. She grew up in London, where she was able to observe the musical life of the capital and to meet the many musicians, men of letters, and artists who visited the family home. In 1764, she went to France with her elder sister Esther Burney (1749-1832) to improve their French. In 1782, she married Molesworth Phillips (1755–1832), a Royal Marines officer who served with Captain Cook on his last voyage. They lived in Surrey and later in rural Ireland. The marriage was unhappy due to her husband's several extramarital affairs and his mistreatment of her. She was interested in music and writing journal letters to her older sister Frances "Fanny" Burney, later Madame d'Arblay (1752-1840). When Fanny secretly wrote and published anonymously her first novel “Evelina” (1778), they were both involved in the cover-up. Susan's letters captured vividly musical life and the personalities involved in it. Her extensive journals and letters provide a striking portrait of social, domestic, and cultural life in London, the Home Counties and Ireland in the late eighteenth century. They are of the great importance and interest to music and theatre historians and contain much significance and interest for Burney scholars, social historians of England and Ireland, women's historians, and historians of the family. Susan Burney Letters Project can be found at the University of Nottingham. Her writings are held by the New York Public Library, the British Museum and Yale University Library.

She died on January 6, 1800, in Parkgate, Cheshire, England.

Harold Burnham of Peterborough, Ontario received his Bachelor of Applied Science degree from McGill University in 1897. While a student at McGill, Burnham was a member of the Junior Rugby team (1894), the Intermediate Football Team (1896) and the Second XV Rugby Club (1897).