Allan Cunningham (botanist)

Allan Cunningham ( born July 13, 1791 in Wimbledon, Surrey, † June 27, 1839 in Sydney ) was an English botanist and explorer. He is primarily known for his explorations in Australia, where he cataloged numerous plants. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " A.Cunn. ".

Life and work

Cunningham was educated at a private school in Putney and worked from 1808 onwards in a herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens. End of October 1814, he traveled with James Bowie to Brazil and stayed there for two years. Commissioned by Joseph Banks, he was sent to Australia and was released in December 1816 in Sydney. In 1817 he took to John Oxley's expedition in part to the Lachlan River and Macquarie River. From December 1817 to December 1820 he was a ship's botanist on board the HMS Mermaid, traveled to the coast of Australia along (especially the almost unexplored north-west coast ), and collected hundreds of plant samples. 1821 and 1822 was followed by a larger journey that led him among other things to Mauritius.

From 1823 to 1825 he explored the hinterland of New South Wales; here he came, among other things to the place where today the capital of Canberra. In 1826 he visited New Zealand for six months. In 1827 he explored the valley of the Hunter River from the area beyond the Great Dividing Range. An expedition led him in 1828 from Brisbane again with Charles Frazer in this region, where he discovered later named after him pass Cunninghams Gap. In 1829 he explored the valley of the Brisbane River.

He returned to England, arrived there in July 1831 and began to evaluate its many plant samples scientifically. Five years later he went back to Australia, reaching Sydney in February 1837. He had been appointed colonial botanist of New South Wales, but met only a few months later by that office because he felt under-challenged. During a trip to New Zealand in 1838 he fell ill with tuberculosis. Approximately one year later, he died almost 48 years old in Sydney. His grave is located on the grounds of the local Royal Botanic Gardens.