Cunningham, Sir Alexander

Cunningham, Sir Alexander

▪ British army officer and archaeologist
born Jan. 23, 1814, London, Eng.
died Nov. 28, 1893, London

      British army officer and archaeologist who excavated many sites in India, including Sārnāth and Sānchi, and served as the first director of the Indian Archaeological Survey.

      At age 19 he joined the Bengal Engineers and spent 28 years in the British service in India, retiring as major general in 1861. Early in his career he met James Prinsep, a British numismatist and Indian scholar, who ignited his interest in Indian history and coins. In 1837 Cunningham excavated at Sārnāth, outside Vārānasi (Benares), one of the most sacred Buddhist shrines, and carefully prepared drawings of the sculptures. In 1850 he excavated Sānchi, site of some of the oldest surviving buildings in India. In addition to a study of the temple architecture of Kāshmir (1848) and a work on Ladākh (1854), he published The Bhilsa Topes (1854), the first serious attempt to trace Buddhist history through its architectural remains.

      In 1861 he agreed to become director of the Indian Archaeological Survey and remained with it until it was dissolved (1865). He resumed his post when the survey was restored (1870) and during the next 15 years carried out many archaeological explorations among the ruins of northern India. He published The Ancient Geography of India (1871), the first collection of the edicts of the 3rd-century-BC Indian emperor Aśoka, and The Stûpa of Bharhut (1879). Over the years he gathered a large collection of Indian coins, the choicest of which were purchased by the British Museum. After his retirement from the survey (1885), he devoted himself to Indian numismatics and wrote two books on the subject. He was knighted in 1887.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alexander Cunningham — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cunningham. Sir Alexander Cunningham (Londres, 23 janvier 1814 – Londres, 28 novembre 1893) est un archéologue britannique et un ingénieur militaire. Cunningham se rend en Inde avec ses deux frères à la …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alexander Cunningham — Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 ndash;28 November 1893) was a British archaeologist and army engineer, known as the father of the Archaeological Survey of India. Both his brothers, Francis Cunningham and Joseph Cunningham became well… …   Wikipedia

  • Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet — Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, Bart Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy Born …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander Cunningham (Indologe) — Sir Alexander Cunningham (* 23. Januar 1814 in London; † 28. November 1893 London) war ein britischer Indologe. Alexander Cunningham diente als britischer Ingenieuroffizier in Indien. Danach wurde er zum ersten Direktor des britisch indischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cunningham — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Patronyme Le nom de Cunningham est porté par plusieurs personnalités (par ordre alphabétique du prénom) : Les Cunningham (en), clan écossais Si …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn — Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, 1st Lord Kilmaurs (1426 ndash; June 11, 1488), was a Scottish nobleman.He was firstly created a Lord of Parliament in 1450, with the title Lord Kilmaurs.King James III of Scotland created Lord Kilmaurs …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn — (died 1574) was a Scottish nobleman and celebrated covenanter known as the good earl .The son of William Cunningham, 4th Earl of Glencairn by his second wife, the daughter of and heiress of John Campbell of West Loudon, he followed in his father… …   Wikipedia

  • Cunningham [2] — Cunningham (spr. Könninghäm), 1) Rich., s. u. Cunninghamia. 2) Alexander, geb. 1654[585] in Schottland, begleitete nach der Vollendung seiner Studien mehrere schottische Edelleute auf Reisen, wurde unter Georg I. 1715 Gesandter in Venedig, kehrte …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Cunningham [2] — Cunningham (spr. könning äm), 1) Allan, schott. Dichter und Prosaist, geb. 7. Dez. 1784 zu Blackwood unweit Dalswinton in der Grafschaft Dumfries, gest. 29. Okt. 1842 in London, wurde zu einem ältern Bruder, einem Steinmetz, in die Lehre getan,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Cunningham — For other uses, see Cunningham (disambiguation). Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people with the family name include: Aaron Cunningham, American baseball player Abe Cunningham, American drummer Alan… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”