Cunninghame Graham
Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (24 May 1852 – 20 March 1936) was a Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer. He was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP); the first ever socialist member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom; a founder, and the first president, of the Scottish Labour Party; a founder of the National Party of Scotland in 1928; and the first president of the Scottish National Party in 1934.
Robert Cunninghame Graham | |
|---|---|
Cunninghame Graham, c. 1890. | |
| 1st President of the Scottish National Party | |
| In office 7 April 1934 – 20 March 1936 | |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Roland Muirhead |
| President of the Scottish Labour Party | |
| In office 25 August 1888 – 1895 | |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Party Disestablished |
| MP for North West Lanarkshire | |
| In office 1886–1892 | |
| Preceded by | John Baird |
| Succeeded by | Graeme Alexander Lockhart Whitelaw |
| Majority | 332 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 May 1852 London, England |
| Died | 20 March 1936 (aged 83) Plaza Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Resting place | Inchmahome Priory |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Other political affiliations | National Party of Scotland Scottish Labour Party Liberal Party |
| Alma mater | Harrow School |
| Laid to rest at Lake of Menteith. On the island of Inchmahome | |
Cunninghame Graham was the eldest son of Major William Bontine of the Renfrew Militia and formerly a Cornet in the Scots Greys with whom he served in Ireland. His mother was the Hon. Anne Elizabeth Elphinstone-Fleeming, daughter of Admiral Charles Elphinstone-Fleeming of Cumbernauld and a Spanish noblewoman, Doña Catalina Paulina Alessandro de Jiménez, who reputedly, along with her second husband, Admiral James Katon, heavily influenced Cunninghame Graham's upbringing. Thus the first language Cunninghame Graham learned was his mother's maternal tongue, Spanish.