Governor General Of India List With Year

Year of Service

Governor General of India

Major Reforms & Events

1772-1785

Warren Hastings

First Governor General of India

• End to the dual system of administration

• Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William (1774) was established

• First English translation of Bhagavad Gita

1786-1793

Lord Cornwallis

• Establishment of Appellate courts and lower-grade courts

• Establishment of Sanskrit college

• Introduction of Permanent Settlement and Civil Services

1793-1798

Sir John Shore 

• He followed the Policy of Non-intervention in the Battle of Kharda.

1798-1805

Lord Wellesley

• Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance System

• Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and the Treaty of Bassein

• Second Anglo-Maratha War

• Establishment of the Madras Presidency

• Establishing Fort William College at Calcutta

1805-1807

Sir George Barlow

• The Acting Governor General of India until the arrival of Lord Minto,

• Diminished the area of British territory because of his passion for the economy and retrenchment,

• The Mutiny of Vellore took place in 1806

1807-1813

Lord Minto I

• Concluded the treaty of Amritsar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1809,

• Introduced the Charter Act of 1813

1813-1823

Lord Hastings

• The policy of Non-intervention came to an end

• third Anglo-Maratha war

• Abolition of Peshwaship

• Establishment of the Ryotwari System in Madras (By Thomas Munroe) and Bombay

• Mahalwari system in the north-western Provinces and Bombay

1823-1828

 Lord Amherst

• The annexation of Assam led to the first Burmese War of 1824

• The mutiny of Barrackpore in 1824

1828-1835

(Governor General of India in 1829)

Lord William Bentinck

• First Governor-General of India (Charter Act of 1833 made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor General of India).

•  Abolition of Sati

• Suppression of Thuggee, infanticide, and child sacrifices.

• English Education Act of 1835

• Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata 

1835-1836

Lord Charles Metcalfe

• Liberator of the Indian press 

• detached all restraints on an open press

1836-1842

Lord Auckland

• Dedicated himself to the improvement of native schools and the expansion of the commercial industry of India 

• The first Anglo-Afghan war 

1842-1844

Lord Ellenborough

• Sindh was annexed

1844-1848

Lord Hardinge I

•  First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46)

Lord Dalhousie (Governors-General of India)

• Introduced the ‘Doctrine of Lapse‘ 

• Doctrine of Good

• Charles Wood Dispatch

• Post Office Act, 1854

• 1st Railway line connecting Bombay and Thane

• Established engineering college in Roorkee

• Second Anglo-Sikh War 

• First telegraph line

•  Establishment of the Public Works Department 

• Abolition of titles and pensions.

• Started Competitive  examination for the Indian Civil Services 

• Widow Remarriage Act

1856-1857

(Governor General of India during 1857)

Lord Canning

• Three universities at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay were established in 1857 

• The Revolt of 1857 took place

• Note – Post-1857 Revolt, the Governor General of India was made Viceroy of British India, and Canning became the first Viceroy of India/British India.

1858- 1862

The Viscount Canning

• Queen Victoria's Proclamation (on 1 November 1858) and The Government of India Act of 1858

• A system of Budget was introduced

• Formation of Imperial Civil Services

• Indigo Revolt in Bengal in 1859–60

• White mutiny by the European troops in 1859

• Enactment of the Indian Penal Code in 1860

• Indian High Courts Act 1861

• Indian Councils Act, 1861

• Indian Civil Service Act, 1861

• Police Act, 1861

• Establishment of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1861

• Introduced the Portfolio System, which gave the foundation for the Cabinet System

1862- 1863

The Earl of Elgin

• Establishment of Calcutta High Court (2 July), Bombay High Court (14 August), and Madras High Court (15 August) in 1862

• Wahabi movement suppressed

21st Nov - 2nd December

Robert Napier

 He was an Acting Governor and temporarily posted for the new Governor to arrive.

2nd December 1863 - 12th January 1864

William Denison

 He was an Acting Governor and temporarily posted for the new Governor to arrive.

3rd May 1872 - 12th April 1876

The Lord Northbrook

• Jyotiba Phule launched the Satyashodhak Samaj in Maharashtra in 1873 against the caste system and Untouchability.

• Dramatic Performances Act, 1876

• He suppressed the Kuka rebellion in Punjab led by Ram Singh in 1872

• Trial of Gaekwad of Baroda in 1874

• Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College was founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1875)

• Prince of Wales Edward VII visited India in 1875

• He resigned in 1876, being asked by the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli to make a treaty with the Emir of Afghanistan, Sher Ali Khan

12 April

1876 - 8th June

1880

The Lord Lytton

• Royal Titles Act, 1876, by which Queen Victoria assumed the title of 'Empress of India'

• 1st Delhi Durbar (out of 3) in 1877

• Great Famine of 1876–1878, and a Famine Commission was constituted under Richard Strachey in 1878

• Vernacular Press Act, 1878

• Arms Act, 1878

• Decreased the maximum age of appearing in civil services from 21 to 19

• Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80)

• The Treaty of Gandamak was signed in 1879

8th June1880 - 13th December 1884

The Marquess of Ripon

• First Factory Act (1881)

• Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

• Repeal of the Vernacular Press Act in 1882

• Ilbert Bill (1883)

• Establishment of Panjab University in 1882

• Government resolution on local self-government (1882)

• Appointment of the Education Commission under Sir William Wilson Hunter in 1882

• The first complete Census in India was in 1881

• He passed the Famine codes in 1883

• Increased the maximum age of appearing in civil services from 18 to 21

1884 - 1888

The Earl of Dufferin

• Formation of the Indian National Congress (1885)

• Bengal Tenancy Act (1885)

• Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885)

• In 1886, Burma was made a province of India, with Rangoon as its capital

1884 - 1894

The Marquess of Lansdowne

• Age of Consent Act of 1891 was passed to prohibit the marriages of a girl child under the age of 12

• Indian Council Act 1892

• Second Factory Act 1891

• Setting up of the Durand Commission in 1893 (India-Afghanistan)

1894- 1899

The Earl of Elgin

• Indian famine of 1896–1897

• Spread of Bubonic plague in Bombay (1896)

• Establishment of the Ramakrishna Mission by Swami Vivekananda at Belur Math in 1897

• The assassination of two British officials (Walter Charles Rand and Ayerst) by the Chapekar brothers in 1897

1899 - 1905

The Lord Curzon of Kedleston

• Indian famine of 1899–1900

• Munda (Ulgulan) rebellion led by Birsa Munda in 1899–1900

• Department of Agriculture was constituted in 1901

• The Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa in Bihar was established in 1905

• Partition of Bengal (1905)

• Appointment of Raleigh University Commission (1902) (Indian Universities Act, 1904 was passed as per the recommendation of this commission)

• Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904

• Official Secrets Act 1904 to curb the free press

• Second Delhi Durbar (out of 3) in 1903

• Appointment of Police Commission under Sir Andrew Frazer in 1902

• Creation of the North-West Frontier Province in 1901

• Swadeshi Movement (1905–1911) against the Partition of Bengal by Lal Bal Pal-Aurbindo Ghosh)

• Benaras Hindu Girls School (Kanya Vidyalaya) was established by Annie Besant in 1904

• Younghusband's expedition to Tibet under Francis Younghusband in 1903–04

1905- 1910

The Earl of Minto

• Morley–Minto reforms 1909, or the Indian Councils Act 1909

• Split in Congress in 1907 (in Surat session)

• Satyendra Prasanna Sinha became the first Indian member to be appointed to the Viceroy's Executive Council

• Seditious Meetings (Prohibition) Act 1907 to curb the extremist movement

• Establishment of the Muslim League by Aga Khan III and Khwaja Salimullah (Nawab of Dhaka) in 1906

• Foundation of the Jugantar revolutionary group in Bengal (1906)

• Indian Press Act, 1910

• Jamsetji Tata established TISCO in 1907

• The foundation stone of 'The Victoria Memorial' was laid in 1906

• Newspapers Act 1908

1910 - 1916

The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst

• Third Delhi Durbar (1911)

• Annulment of the Partition of Bengal by King George V in 1911

• Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911)

• Partition of Bengal to form Bihar and Orissa province (1912)

• World War I (1914–18)

• Komagata Maru incident (1914)

• The McMahon border line was created between India and China in 1914

• Ghadar Mutiny (1915)

• Mahatma Gandhi came back to India from South Africa in 1915

• Foundation of the Hindu Mahasabha by Madan Mohan Malviya (1915)

• The foundation of Banaras Hindu University in 1916

1916 - 1921

The Lord Chelmsford

• Formation of the Indian Home Rule movement by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant (1916)

• The First Women's University (SNDT Women's University) at Pune was founded by Dhondo Keshav Karve (1916)

• Lucknow Pact (1916) (between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League)

• Champaran Satyagraha (1917), the first satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in British India

• August Declaration, 1917

• Saddler University Commission or Calcutta Commission (1917)

• Kheda Satyagraha of 1918

• Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms (1919)

• Government of India Act 1919

• Rowlatt Act (1919)

• Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919)

• Khilafat Movement (1919–20) (later merged with the Non-cooperation movement in 1920)

• Non-cooperation movement (1920–22)

• The foundation of Aligarh Muslim University in 1920

• Imperial Bank of India (now State Bank of India established in 1921.

1921 - 1926

The Earl of Reading

• Malabar Rebellion (also known as Moplah Rebellion), the first Ethnic Rebellion (1921)

• Rabindranath Tagore founded Visva-Bharati University in 1921

• Chauri Chaura incident (1922) and withdrawal of the Non-cooperation movement by Mahatma Gandhi

• Formation of the Swaraj Party in 1923

• Appointment of the Lee Commission in 1923 on public services reforms

• The railway budget was separated from the general budget since 1924 (this tradition continued till 2016)

• Kakori train robbery in 1925

• Foundation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh by K. B. Hedgewar in 1925

• Foundation of the Communist Party of India in Kanpur in 1925

• Annulment of the Press Act of 1910 and the Rowlatt Act of 1919

1926 - 1936

The Lord Irwin

• Simon Commission (1928)

• Nehru Report (1928)

• Death of Lala Lajpat Rai (1928)

• Fourteen Points of Jinnah (1929)

• Purna Swaraj Declaration (1929)

• Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929)

• Bombing in the Central Legislative Assembly on 8 April 1929 by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt

• "Deepavali Declaration" on 31 October 1929 (to grant India dominion status in due course)

• Appointment of the "Hartog Committee" (1929) to survey the growth of education in British India

• Launching of the Civil Disobedience movement with the Salt March (1930)

• Dharasana Satyagraha (1930)

• First Round Table Conferences (1930)

• Allahabad Address by Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1930)

• Chittagong armory raid in 1930

• Gandhi–Irwin Pact (1931)

• Execution of Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar (1931)

1931 - 1936

The Earl of Willingdon

• Second Round Table Conference (1931)

• Announcement of Communal Award by Ramsay MacDonald (1932)

• Poona Pact between Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar in 1932

• Third Round Table Conference (1932)

• Pakistan Declaration (1933)

• Foundation of the Congress Socialist Party in 1934

• Government of India Act 1935

• Formation of the All India Kisan Sabha in 1936

• The Reserve Bank of India was established by passing the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934.

1936 - 1943

The Marquess of Linlithgow

• Indian provincial elections (1937)

• Indian entry into World War II (1939)

• Day of Deliverance (1939)

• Formation of All India Forward Bloc (1939)

• Lahore Resolution (1940)

• August Offer (1940)

• Cripps Mission (1942)

• Formation of the Indian Legion (1942)

• Quit India Movement (1942)

• Formation of the Indian National Army (1942)

• Bengal famine (1943)

1943 - 1947

The Viscount Wavell

• C. R. formula (1944)

• Simla Conference (1945)

• WW II ended (1945)

• Indian National Army (INA) trials in 1945-1946

• Cabinet Mission (1946)

• Direct Action Day (16 August 1946)

• Interim Government was formed in 1946

• Royal Indian Navy mutiny (1946)

21st February - 15th August

The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma

• Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed on 18 July 1947.

• Radcliffe Commission was appointed under the chairmanship of Cyril Radcliffe to demarcate the borderline of the Bengal Presidency and the Punjab Province

15th August 1947 - 21 June 1948

The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma

• First Governor General of Independent India

21 June 1948 - 26th January 1950

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari

• The last Governor General of India, before the office was permanently abolished in 1950.