Sir Alexander Cunningham KCIE CSI (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British
army engineer with the
Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India which led to his appointment in 1861 to the newly created position of archaeological surveyor to the government of India. He founded and organized what later became the
Archaeological Survey of India. He wrote numerous books and monographs and made massive collections of artefacts. Some of his collections were lost but most of the gold and silver coins and a fine group of Buddhist sculptures and jewellery were bought by the
British Museum in 1894. Two of his brothers,
Francis Cunningham and
Joseph Cunningham became well known for their work in
British India while another, Peter Cunningham, became famous for his
Handbook of London (1849).