Francis Cunningham

Who was Francis Cunningham?

Francis Cunningham was an officer in the Madras Army, member of the Mysore Commission, and Literary Editor.

Francis Cunningham was the son of the poet Allan Cunningham and the younger brother of Joseph Davey and Alexander Cunningham, who also spent most of their working lives in India.

The brothers' cadetships were obtained through a friend of their father's, Sir Walter Scott, who was extremely friendly with Robert Dundas and others with a Scottish background who had been or were at the Board of Control. After undergoing training at the Military Seminary of the British East India Company at Addiscombe, then in Surrey, Francis was gazetted as an Ensign and posted to the 23rd Madras Native Infantry.

In his army service he distinguished himself as a Field Engineer, with Robert Sale at Jalalabad, during the 1st Afghan War. In 1850, he was posted to the Mysore Commission, headquartered at Bangalore as Secretary to the Commission and was acting as a deputy to Sir Mark Cubbon, the Chief Commissioner at Bangalore. Here, apart from playing an active role in developing the Horticultural Gardens at Lalbagh, he undertook many constructions including the one he built for Sir Mark Cubbon in the nearby Nandi Hills and possibly, a large bungalow in Bangalore, known as the Balabrooie. Unfortunately, documentation on this period of Bangalore's history is sparse.