| Milton Joseph "Joe" Cunningham | |
| Office: | Attorney General of Louisiana |
| Term Start: | 1884 |
| Term End: | 1888 |
| Governor: | Samuel Douglas McEnery |
| Preceded: | James C. Egan |
| Succeeded: | Walter Henry Rogers |
| Term Start2: | 1892 |
| Term End2: | 1900 |
| Governor2: | Murphy J. Foster, Sr. |
| Preceded2: | Walter Henry Rogers |
| Succeeded2: | Walter Guion |
| Office3: | Louisiana State Senator from Natchitoches and DeSoto parishes |
| Term Start3: | 1880 |
| Term End3: | 1884 |
| Succeeded3: | Two-member delegation: J. Fisher Smith Edgar W. Sutherlin |
| Office4: | Louisiana State Representative |
| Term Start4: | 1878 |
| Term End4: | 1880 |
| Preceded4: | Three-member delegation: L. G. Barron John G. Lewis Henry Raby |
| Succeeded4: | Two-member delegation: James H. Cosgrove R. E. Jackson |
| Birth Date: | 10 March 1842 |
| Birth Place: | DeSoto Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Death Cause: | Atherosclerosis |
| Death Place: | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Resting Place: | American Cemetery in Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Spouse: | (1) Thalia Allen Tharp (married 1866-1872, her death) (2) Anne Peyton (married 1874-1878, her death) (3) Cecile Hertzog (married 1880-1886, her death) (4) Emma Mai Blouin (married 1895-1916, his death) |
| Children: | Twelve children, including: William Tharp CunninghamCharles Milton Cunningham |
| Parents: | John Hamilton and Ann Buie Cunningham |
| Relations: | W. Peyton Cunningham (grandson) Mildred Methvin (great-great-granddaughter) |
| Party: | Democrat |
| Occupation: | Attorney Landowner |
| Signature: | Signature of Milton Joseph Cunningham.png |
Milton Joseph Cunningham, also known as Joe Cunningham (March 10, 1842 – October 19, 1916) was a Louisiana attorney and politician who served as Attorney General of Louisiana from 1884 to 1888, and from 1892 to 1900.
As Attorney General he submitted the legal brief to the Supreme Court in the case Plessy v. Ferguson arguing in favor of separate rail cars for people of different races.[1]
Cunningham served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1878 to 1880 and in the Louisiana State Senate from 1880 to 1884.[2]