Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet was born on November 21, 1787, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

He was a British-Canadian shipping magnate and philanthropist, a brother of Joseph Cunard (1799-1865). As a teenager, he was managing his own general store. Around 1820, with his brothers Henry and Joseph, he opened a branch of the family timber business in Chatham, New Brunswick. The firm operated mills, wharves, a store, and shipyards and later expanded into investments in shipping. During the War of 1812, Cunard volunteered for service in the 2nd Battalion of the Halifax Regiment militia and rose to the rank of captain. He held many public offices, such as volunteer fireman and lighthouse commissioner, and maintained a reputation as not only a shrewd businessman but also an honest and generous citizen. When his brother Joseph went bankrupt in 1847, he took out loans and personally guaranteed all his brother's debts in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Boston. Joseph Cunard moved to Liverpool, England where Samuel helped him re-establish his shipping interests. At the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, a substantial portion of the second floor is dedicated to his life, the Cunard Line, and its famous ships. A large bronze statue of Samuel Cunard was erected in October 2006 on the Halifax waterfront, beside the Ocean Terminal Wharves long used by Cunard's liners. A stamp of Cunard's likeness was issued by Canada Post in 2004.

In 1815, he married Susan Duffus (1795–1828). He died on April 28, 1865, in Kensington, London, England.