David Cunningham

Who was David Cunningham?

David Cunningham was a 16th-century Scottish prelate and diplomat. He was the first Bishop of Aberdeen fully independent of the Roman Catholic Church. His predecessor, William Gordon began as a Roman Catholic bishop, but accepted the Church of Scotland's authority.

Born around 1540, he graduated in the early 1560s as Master of Arts from St Leonard's College, St Andrews. Cunningham also studied Civil Law in France, at the University of Paris and the University of Bourges.

He became a Protestant sometime before 1562, when he was made minister of Lanark; he held this position until 1570, when he took over Lesmahagow, moving to Cadder in 1572 and then to Lenzie in 1574. Additionally, on 22 March 1572, Cunningham became Provost of Bothwell Collegiate Church.

After the appointment of Patrick Adamson as Archbishop of St Andrews in December 1576, Cunningham replaced Adamson as the chaplain of James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, Regent of Scotland. With access to such high level magnate patronage, on either 5 October or 5 November 1577, Cunningham was elected as Bishop of Aberdeen, receiving consecration on 11 November. In this year, too, he became Chancellor of King's College, Aberdeen.