Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham
Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, c. 1890.
1st President of the Scottish National Party
In office 7 April 1934 – 20 March 1936
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Roland Muirhead
President of the Scottish Labour Party
In office 25 August 1888 – 1895
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Party Disestablished
MP for North West Lanarkshire
In office 1886 – 1892
Preceded by	John Baird
Succeeded by	Graeme Alexander Lockhart Whitelaw
Majority	332
Personal details
Born	24 May 1852 London, United Kingdom
Died	20 March 1936 (aged 83) Plaza Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Resting place	Inchmahome Priory
Political party	Scottish National Party
Other political affiliations	National Party of Scotland Scottish Labour Party Liberal Party
Alma mater	Harrow School
Laid to rest at Lake of Mentieth. On the inchmahome priory

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (24 May 1852 – 20 March 1936) was a Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer. He was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP); the first-ever socialist member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom; a founder, and the first president, of the Scottish Labour Party; a founder of the National Party of Scotland in 1928; and the first president of the Scottish National Party in 1934.

Cunninghame Graham was the eldest son of Major William Bontine of the Renfrew Militia and formerly a Cornet in the Scots Greys with whom he served in Ireland. His mother was Hon. Anne Elizabeth Elphinstone-Fleeming, daughter of Admiral Charles Elphinstone-Fleeming of Cumbernauld and a Spanish noblewoman Doña Catalina Paulina Alessandro de Jiménez, (who, reputedly, along with her 2nd husband Admiral James Katon), heavily influenced Cunninghame Graham's upbringing. Thus the first language Cunninghame Graham learnt was his mother's maternal tongue, Spanish. He spent most of his childhood on the family estate of Finlaystone in Renfrewshire and Ardoch in Dunbartonshire, Scotland, with his younger brothers Charles and Malise.

After being educated at Harrow public school in England, Robert finished his education in Brussels, Belgium before moving to Argentina to make his fortune cattle ranching. He became known as a great adventurer and gaucho there, and was affectionately known as Don Roberto. He also travelled in Morocco disguised as a Turkish sheikh, prospected for gold in Spain, befriended Buffalo Bill in Texas, and taught fencing in Mexico City, having travelled there by wagon train from San Antonio de Bexar with his young bride sic "Gabrielle Chideock de la Balmondiere" a supposed half French half Chilean poet.