•Samuel Cunard was born in Halifax on November 21, 1787, to Abraham Cunard and Margaret Murphy. Self-educated for the most part, Samuel trained as a clerk at the Royal Engineers' lumber yard until 1812, when A. Cunard and Son was registered to trade timber, but he also traded other goods. The same year, as war was declared by the United States, he volunteered in the 2nd battalion of the Halifax Regiment of Militia, where he rose to the rank of Captain. He had joined the Sun Fire Company in 1809 and was its president by 1821; The same year he was appointed Fireward, a position he held until 1835. However, Samuel Cunard is known for his successes as a ship owner; a low estimate put at 76 the number of ships he registered between 1817 and 1850. He died in London on April 28, 1865 (Blakeley, Cunard, Samuel 2003).