Allan Cunningham

Allan Cunningham (3 July 1791 – 27 June 1839). English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels in New South Wales to collect plants. Plant collector at Kew - sent to Australia by Joseph Banks. Cunningham was born in Wimbledon, Surrey, the son of Allan Cunningham, who came from Renfrewshire, Scotland, and his English wife. Allan Cunningham was well educated at a Putney private school and then went into a solicitor's office. He afterwards obtained a position with W. T. Aiton superintendent of Kew Gardens, and this brought him in touch with Robert Brown and Sir Joseph Banks. Cunningham went to Brazil between 1814 and 1816 collecting specimens. On 28 September 1816 he sailed for Sydney where he arrived on 20 December 1816. He established himself at Parramatta. Among other explorations, he joined John Oxley's 1817 expedition beyond the Blue Mountains to the Lachlan and Macquarie rivers and shared in the privations of the 1,200 miles (1,930 km) journey. He was able to collect specimens of about 450 species and gained valuable experience as an explorer. He also climbed Mount Keira. He was first interred in the Devonshire St. Cemetery in July 1839. He was reinterred on 25 May 1901 in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

Sources

1. http://www.kew.org/heritage/people/cunningham.html
2. Australia Dictionary of Biography - online Edition
3. http://www.writewords.org.uk/archive/22404.asp
4. http://www.artuccino.com/Allan_Cunningham/index.html
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Cunningham_%28botanist%29