Francis Cunningham (Indian Army officer)

Francis Cunningham (1820 – 3 December 1875) was an officer in the Madras Army, member of the Mysore Commission as secretary to Mark Cubbon, and a literary editor. He published a three volume revised edition of Gifford's Works of Ben Jonson in 1871. Cunningham road in Bangalore is named after him.

Francis Cunningham was the son of the poet Allan Cunningham and the younger brother of historian Joseph Davey (1812–1851, who wrote on the History of the Sikhs), (1816–1869), author and literary editor and archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham (1814–1893, who founded the Archaeological Survey of India), who also spent most of their working lives in India. His younger brother Peter Cunningham (1816–1869) also became a literary editor, best known for his Handbook of London.

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 1838. He then joined the Shah's Sappers to Kabul to support Lord Auckland's campaign to set up Shah Shuja in Afghanistan. Cunningham distinguished himself as a Field Engineer, with Robert Sale at Jalalabad, during the 1st Afghan War. After the withdrawal of the forces in 1850, he was placed by Lord Ellenborough in the Mysore commission and posted in Bangalore where he stayed for the remained of his career in India. He was known for his hospitality and for maintaining a large private library. As Secretary to the Mysore Commission and a deputy to Sir Mark Cubbon, the Chief Commissioner at Bangalore he played an active role in the development of Bangalore including the Horticultural Gardens at Lalbagh, constructions including the one he built for Sir Mark Cubbon in the nearby Nandi Hills and possibly, a large bungalow called the Balabrooie. Unfortunately, documentation on this period of Bangalore's history is sparse.

...
Wikipedia