27 Facts About Alexander Cunningham

Alexander Cunningham wrote numerous books and monographs and made extensive collections of artefacts.

Alexander Cunningham joined the Bengal Engineers at the age of 19 as a Second Lieutenant and he spent the next 28 years in the service of British Government of India.

Alexander Cunningham demonstrated his abilities as an official by surveying flood-prone areas in and around Delhi.

Alexander Cunningham was in daily communication with Prinsep during 1837 and 1838 and became his intimate friend, confidant and pupil.

Alexander Cunningham finds mention by initials in Up the Country by Emily Eden.

In 1841 Alexander Cunningham was made executive engineer to the king of Oudh.

Alexander Cunningham was then posted at Nowgong in central India before he saw action at the Battle of Punniar in December 1843.

Alexander Cunningham was therefore absent from India during the Rebellion of 1857.

Alexander Cunningham was appointed Colonel of the Royal Engineers in 1860.

Alexander Cunningham retired on 30 June 1861, having attained the rank of Major General.

Alexander Cunningham had taken a keen interest in antiquities from early on in his career.

Alexander Cunningham had conducted excavations at Sarnath in 1837 along with Frederick Charles Maisey and made careful drawings of the sculptures.

Alexander Cunningham provided a rationale for providing the necessary funding, arguing that the venture.

Alexander Cunningham held this position from 1861 to 1865, but it was then terminated through lack of funds.

Alexander Cunningham was able to identify some of the places mentioned by Xuanzang, and counted among his major achievements the identification of Aornos, Ahichchhatra, Bairat, Kosambi, Nalanda, Padmavati, Sangala, Sankisa, Shravasti, Srughna, Taxila, and Vaishali.

Alexander Cunningham noticed that this position did not tally with the itineraries of Chinese pilgrims and in particular, the descriptions provided by Xuanzang.

Alexander Cunningham returned to India and made field explorations each winter, conducting excavations and surveys from Taxila to Gaur.

Alexander Cunningham produced twenty-four reports, thirteen as author and the rest under his supervision by others such as JD Beglar.

Alexander Cunningham retired from the Archaeological Survey on 30 September 1885 and returned to London to continue his research and writing.

Alexander Cunningham provided the Archaeological Survey of India with much-needed organization and expertise after he left the Army in 1861.

Alexander Cunningham is regarded as the founder of archaeology in India because:.

Alexander Cunningham assembled a large numismatic collection, but much of this was lost when the steamship he was travelling in, the Indus, was wrecked off the coast of Ceylon in November 1884.

Alexander Cunningham had suggested to the Museum that they should use the arch from the Sanchi Stupa to mark the entrance of a new section on Indian history.

Alexander Cunningham published numerous papers in the Journal of the Asiatic Society and the Numismatic Chronicle.

Alexander Cunningham married Alicia Maria Whish, daughter of Martin Whish, BCS.

Alexander Cunningham died on 28 November 1893, at his home in South Kensington and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London.

Alexander Cunningham was awarded the CSI on 20 May 1870 and CIE in 1878.