Matthew Cunningham

Matthew Cunningham (July 5, 1782-June 15, 1851) was the first mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, serving one year in 1832.

Cunningham was the first physician in Little Rock, settling sometime around 1820. He was trained at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. His wife Eliza Bertrand Cunningham was the first white female resident of the city. Their son Chester Cunningham was the first white child born in Little Rock.

Cunningham won election to the Little Rock Mayor's Office in 1831 over the Reverend W. W. Stevenson by a margin of twenty-three to fifteen.

Matthew Cunningham was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and died in Little Rock. He is buried in Mount Holly Cemetery.

References

• Arkansas Writers' Project, Arkansas: A Guide to the State (Works Progress Administration, 1941), 172.