John Daly Burk (ca.1776–1808) was an Irish-born dramatist, historian and newspaperman in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
[3][4] Burk was probably born in Cork, Ireland circa 1772 and was raised Protestant.
After attempting to help rescue a rebel led for execution outside Trinity College Dublin, he was pursued by the police and made his escape through a bookstore.
Supplied with the garments of Ms. Daly, one of the residents of the bookstore, he adopted the name in gratitude and boarded a ship bound for America.
"[9] When U.S. President John Adams saw the play in New York and was asked his opinion afterward by actor Giles Leonard Barrett, who had portrayed General Warren, Adams replied "My friend, General Warren was a scholar and a gentleman, but your author has made him a bully and a blackguard.