CUNNINGHAM, ALLAN (1784-1842), Scottish poet and man of letters, was born at Keir, Dumfriesshire, on Dec. 7, 1784, and died on Oct. 3o, 1842. He began life as ,a stone mason's apprentice. His father was a neighbour of Burns at Ellisland, and Allan with his brother James visited James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, who became a friend to both. Cunningham contributed some songs to Roche's Literary Recreations in 1807, and in 1809 he collected old ballads for Robert Hartley Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song; he sent in, however, poems of his own, which the editor inserted, even though he may have suspected their real authorship. In 1810 Cunningham went to London and in 1814 became clerk of the works in the studio of Francis Chantrey, retaining this employment till the sculptor's death in 1841. Some of Cunningham's songs hold a high place among British lyrics. "A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea" is a famous sea-song although written by a landsman; and many other of his songs will bear comparison with it.
Cunningham had five sons and one daughter. JOSEPH DAVEY CUNNINGHAM (1812-1851) entered the Bengal Engineers, and is known by his History of the Sikhs (1849). SIR ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM (1814-1893) also entered the Bengal Engineers; attaining the rank of major-general; he was director general of the Indian Archaeological Survey (187o-85), and wrote an Ancient Geography of India (1871) and Coins of Medieval India PETER CUNNINGHAM (IS16—I869) published several topograph ical and biographical studies, of which the most important are his Handbook of London (1849) and The Life of Drummond of Hawthornden (1833). FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM (1820-1875) joined the Indian army, and published editions of Ben Jonson (1871), Marlowe (1870) and Massinger (1871).
The works of Allan Cunningham include Lives of the Most Emi nent British Painters, Sculptors and Architects (1829-33) ; Tradi tionary Tales of the Peasantry (1822) ; the Songs of Scotland, Ancient and Modern (1825) ; Biographical and Critical History of the Litera ture of the Last Fifty Fears (1833) ; an edition of The Works of Robert Burns, with notes and a life containing a good deal of new material (1834) ; and Life, Journals and Correspondence of Sir David Wilkie, published in 1843. An edition of his Poems and Songs was issued by his son, Peter Cunningham, in 1847.