Robert Oliver Cunningham (27 March 1841 – 1918) was a Scottish naturalist.

Birth and early life

Cunningham was born on 27 March 1841, in

Prestonpans Prestonpans ( gd, Baile an t-Sagairt, Scots language, Scots: ''The Pans'') is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of is. It is near the si ...

, the second son of the Rev. William Bruce Cunningham (1806–78), Free Church of Scotland minister in Prestonpans, and Cecilia Margaret Douglas (1813–98), daughter of David Douglas, Lord Reston (1769–1819), the heir of Adam Smith. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy (1851–54), and graduated in medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1864. He gained a Licentiate of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

with a thesis on the Solan Goose. Subscription required

''H.M.S. Nassau''

In January 1866 he was appointed Professor of Natural History in the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, but resigned in June in consequence of being appointed by the Admiralty upon the recommendation of

Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...

, to collect plants as naturalist on board ' under the command of

Richard Charles Mayne Rear-Admiral Richard Charles Mayne (7 July 1835 – 29 May 1892) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer, who in later life became a Conservative politician. Richard Mayne was the son of Sir Richard Mayne KCB (the first joint commissioner of th ...

, then commissioned for the survey of the

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pas ...

and the west coast of Patagonia. This voyage started on 24 August 1866 from the Thames, and on 18 February 1867 she arrived in

Port Stanley Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...

in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

to coal, departing again on 2 March, much to Cunningham's regret. They returned to the Falklands in 1868 enabling Cunningham to explore and study the plants and seaweeds on

East Falkland East Falkland ( es, Isla Soledad) is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as La ...

returning a third time early in 1869. The ''Nassau'' returned to England on 31 July 1869 but Cunningham remained employed by the Navy so that he could write up his natural history notes and his narrative of the voyage, this was published in 1871 as ''The Natural History of the Straits of Magellan''. In all, Cunningham published 18 scientific papers before 1872 his first which was about

gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads; black-tipped wings; and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the ...

s was his theses but the others were mainly on his observations from voyage of the ''Nassau''. He presented some of these papers to the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

and to the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

, becoming a fellow of the latter in 1870.

Queens College

In 1871 Cunningham was appointed Professor of Natural History at Queens College, Belfast where he spent the following 31 years as a university teacher. During his time in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

he was an enthusiastic naturalist, taught botany, geology and zoology, ran excursions and had museum curation duties. He was not completely happy, complaining of overwork and of missing friends and family in Scotland. He unsuccessfully applied for a post at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

in 1878. However, Cunningham remained highly regarded in Belfast and became involved in the university's administrative affairs. He was awarded an honorary degree by the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the ''University Education (Ireland) Act 1879'' as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 Apri ...

. While he was at Queens his mother donated some of the books from the library of her ancestor, Adam Smith, to the college's library.

Retirement

Cunningham gave talks to the Torquay Natural History Society in 1904 but he does not appear to have become a member. He died at Paignton on 14 July 1918.

Birth and early life

''H.M.S. Nassau''

Queens College

Retirement

Bibliography

References

Further reading