Cunard, Sir Samuel (1787-1865), founded the Cunard line of steamships. In 1838, he became the chief founding investor of the North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, commonly known as the Cunard line. The company provided semimonthly mail and passenger service between England and America. The Britannia made the company’s first voyage in 1840. Cunard was made a baronet for services the Cunard lines rendered to Britain in the Crimean War (1853-1856). He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
