Admiral Sir Arthur Cumming KCB (6 May 1817 – 17 February 1893) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was born in Nancy, France to Sir Henry Cumming, a general in the British Army and received naval education at the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth. Cumming served as a midshipman in the Mediterranean and North America before being promoted to lieutenant in 1840 for his actions in the Syrian War. He remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until appointed to HMS Frolic, a sloop stationed in South America. Whilst detached from Frolic and in command of a small pinnace on 6 September 1843 Cumming and seven men boarded a Portuguese slave ship, subdued her 27 man crew and brought her back to Rio de Janeiro. He had expected to be promoted for his efforts, but was overlooked and resented the decision