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020 B000001 13-3435435
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020 A000002 SMITH BARNEY INC.
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<PAGE> PAGE 2
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SIGNATURE MICHAEL E. BARNA
TITLE C.F.O. & SECRETARY
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<LEGEND>
THIS SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE BURNHAM
FUND INC. ANNUAL REPORT DATED DECEMBER 31, 1996 AND IS QUALIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY
BY REFERENCE TO SUCH ANNUAL REPORT.
</LEGEND>
<CIK> 0000030126
<NAME> THE BURNHAM FUND INC.
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 001
<NAME> CLASS A SHARES
<MULTIPLIER> 1
<S> <C>
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<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1996
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1996
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</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<LEGEND>
THIS SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE BURNHAM
FUND INC. ANNUAL REPORT DATED DECEMBER 31, 1996 AND IS QUALIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY
BY REFERENCE TO SUCH ANNUAL REPORT.
</LEGEND>
<CIK> 0000030126
<NAME> THE BURNHAM FUND INC.
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 002
<NAME> CLASS B SHARES
<MULTIPLIER> 1
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 12-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1996
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1996
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<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 89,908,982
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 118,139,123
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<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> (23,246)
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<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.21
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 3.69
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (0.18)
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</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<LEGEND>
THIS SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE BURNHAM
FUND INC. ANNUAL REPORT DATED DECEMBER 31, 1996 AND IS QUALIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY
BY REFERENCE TO SUCH ANNUAL REPORT.
</LEGEND>
<CIK> 0000030126
<NAME> THE BURNHAM FUND INC.
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 003
<NAME> CLASS C SHARES
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<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
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<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 131
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<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> (108)
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</TABLE>
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
__________
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
The Burnham Fund Inc.
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements
and financial highlights of
The Burnham Fund Inc. for the year ended December 31, 1996, we
considered the Fund's internal control structure, including
procedures for safeguarding securities, in order to determine
our auditing procedures for the purposes of expressing our
opinion on the financial statements and financial highlights and
to comply with the requirements of Form N-SAR, not to provide
assurance on the internal control structure.
The management of The Burnham Fund Inc. is responsible for
establishing and maintaining an internal control structure. In
fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and judgments by
management are required to assess the expected benefits and
related costs of internal control structure policies and
procedures. Two of the objectives of an internal control
structure are to provide management with reasonable, but not
absolute, assurance that assets are safeguarded against loss
from unauthorized use or disposition and that transactions are
executed in accordance with management's authorization and
recorded properly to permit preparation of financial statements
in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of inherent limitations in any internal control
structure, errors or irregularities may occur and not be
detected. Also, projection of any evaluation of the structure to
future periods is subject to the risk that it may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the
effectiveness of the design and operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of the internal control structure would not
necessarily disclose all matters in the internal control
structure that might be material weaknesses under standards
established by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. A material weakness is a condition in which the
design or operation of the specific internal control structure
elements does not reduce to a relatively low level the risk that
errors or irregularities in amounts that would be material in
relation to the financial statements and financial highlights
being audited may occur and not be detected within a timely
period by employees in the normal course of performing their
assigned functions. However, we noted no matters involving the
internal control structure, including procedures for
safeguarding securities, that we consider to be material
weaknesses, as defined above, as of December 31, 1996.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of
management of The Burnham Fund Inc. and the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.
New York, New York
January 20, 1997.<PAGE>