William Cunningham was born in 1805 in Hamilton. He received his early education in Duns, Berwickshire, and he studied at Edinburgh University. He was licensed in 1828 and ordained as a Minister, at the Middle Church, Greenock, in 1830. In 1843 he was appointed by the General Assembly of the Free Church to one of the Chairs of Theology at New College, Edinburgh, and earlier, in 1842, he received the degree of D.D. from Princeton, New Jersey. In 1845, Cunningham became Professor of Church History at New College, and in 1847 he was made Principal. He died on 14 December 1861.
From the guide to the Papers of the Rev. Professor William Cunningham (1805-1861), 1820-1931, (Edinburgh University Library)