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 Dictionary of Indian Biography (Buckland) |
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 Dictionary of Indian Biography A to C
| Date transcribed | 2011-01-01 | | Transcribed by | Peter Bailey | | Comment | Note that notables of Indian, Afghan, etc. origin do not always follow the alphabetical name pattern established by Buckland in his original work. |
| | Surname | Cunningham | | | First Name(s) | Sir Alexander | | | Year of Birth | 1814 | | | Year of Death | 1893 | | | Entry | Son of Allan Cunningham : born Jan. 23, 1814 : educated at Christ's Hospital and Addiscombe : obtained an Indian cadetship, through Sir Walter Scott : reached India in June, 1833 : A.D.C. to Lord Auckland, 1836 : Executive Engineer to the King of Oudh, 1840 : engaged in'suppressing the rebellion in Bundelkund : was at Punniar, Dec. 19, 1843 : Executive Engineer at Gwalior, 1844-5 : was in the first Sikh war, 1846, as field engineer : occupied Kangra and Kulu : demarcated boundaries : was at Chilianwala and Gujarat in the second Sikh war, 1848-9 : Chief Engineer in Burma, 1856-8 : and in the N.W.P., 1858-61 : retired from the Army as Maj-General in 1861 : he was then made the first Archaeological Surveyor to the Government of India, 1861-5 : the department was abolished in 1865, but revived in 1870, with Cunningham as Director : he held the post until he retired in 1885 : C.S.I. : C.I.E. : and K.C.I.E. in 1887. Apart from his official reports of his annual tours and his occasional contributions to the Asiatic Society of Bengal's journals, he wrote, inter alia, on Ladak, The Bhilsa Topes, The Ancient Geography of India, The Buddhist Period, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, The Stupa of Bharhat, The Book of Indian Eras, Mahabodhi. After retirement, he paid much attention to numismatics, on which he was an eminent authority : parted with his coins at cost price to the British Museum : died Nov. 28, 1893. |
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A List of eminent persons who served in British India, together with short biographical notes of each
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