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 best known for his research trips to Australia , where he cataloged numerous plants. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " A.Cunn. "
Live and act
Cunningham was educated at a private school in Putney and from 1808 worked in a herbarium in the Royal Botanic Gardens . At the end of October 1814, he traveled to Brazil with James Bowie and stayed there for two years. He was sent to Australia on behalf of Joseph Banks and arrived in Sydney in December 1816 . In 1817 he took part in John Oxley's expedition to the Lachlan River and the Macquarie River . From December 1817 to December 1820 he was a ship botanist on board the HMS Mermaid , traveled along the coasts of Australia (especially the still almost unexplored northwest coast) and collected hundreds of plant samples. In 1821 and 1822 a major trip followed, which took him to Mauritius , among other places .
From 1823 to 1825 he explored the New South Wales hinterland; In doing so, he came across the place where the capital Canberra is today. In 1826 he visited New Zealand for half a year . In 1827 he explored the area beyond the Great Dividing Range from the Hunter River valley . An expedition took him from Brisbane again in 1828 with Charles Frazer to this region, where he discovered the Cunninghams Gap pass, which was later named after him . In 1829 he explored the Brisbane River valley .
He returned to England, arrived there in July 1831 and began to scientifically evaluate his many plant samples. Five years later he traveled again to Australia and reached Sydney in February 1837. He had been appointed Colonial Botanist of New South Wales, but he resigned from this position only a few months later because he felt under-challenged. During a trip to New Zealand in 1838 he contracted tuberculosis . About a year later he died at the age of 48 in Sydney. His grave is on the grounds of the Royal Botanic Gardens there .
The Cunningham Highway in Australia is named after him.
literature
- TM Perry: Cunningham, Allan (1791-1839) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 1. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1966. 2nd revised edition 1977, ISBN 0-522-84121-X (English).
Web links
- Author entry and list of the described plant names for Allan Cunningham (botanist) at the IPNI
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cunningham, Allan |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English botanist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 13, 1791 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wimbledon , Surrey |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 27, 1839 |
| Place of death | Sydney |