Robert Emmet Burke was born near Dadeville, Alabama, and attended nearby public schools.

Burke enlisted as a private in Confederate States Army, Company D 10th Georgia Regiment before the age of sixteen and served throughout the Civil War.

Burke was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and Fifty-seventh Congresses and served from March 4, 1897.

Robert Emmet Burke died in Dallas, Texas, June 5, 1901, and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress