Table of Contents
List of Governors-General and Viceroys of India
INTRODUCTION: The Britishers came to India as traders in 1600 in the form of the East India Company. The East India Company had rights of trading in India under a Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I. In the second half of the 18th century, the Company continued to be primarily a trading business. In 1757, the battle of Plassey, and the battle of Buxar in 1764, the decisive victory of the British East India Company established the British rule in India. Britain had a strong and efficient bureaucracy that it established in its colonies. The British were able to establish this control through the Governor, Governor-General, and Viceroy in India.
They first controlled Bengal through a post named ‘Governor of Bengal’. Robert Clive was the first governor of Bengal. However, other presidencies, Bombay and Madras, had their own Governors. In 1773, with the passing of the Regulating Act of 1773, the post of Governor of Bengal was converted into Governor-General of Bengal. This Act provided the governor of Madras and Bombay work under the Governor-General of Bengal. Warren-Hastings became the first Governor-general of Bengal.
Lists of the Governor-General of Bengal between 1773 and 1833 are given below in the table.
| Name | Notable Events | Appointer |
| Warren Hastings (1773-1785) | Regulating Act of 1773 Pitt’s India Act 1784 Stopped Mughal pension to Shah Alam II First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-1782) and Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-1784) The first Rohilla War of (1773-1774) | East India Company (1773-1858) |
| Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793) | Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790-1792) Permanent Settlement in Bengal and Bihar. Introduction of Cornwallis Code in 1793. Established lower courts and appellate courts | |
| John Shore (1793-1798) | Charter Act of 1793 The second Rohilla War in 1793 | |
| Lord Wellesley (1798-1805) | Fourth Anglo Mysore War Second Anglo Maratha War Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance System | |
| Lord Minto (1807-1813) | Treaty of Amritsar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1809 Charter Act of 1813 | |
| Lord Hastings (1813-1823) | Anglo-Nepal War (1814-1816) Treaty of Sugauli in 1816 Third Maratha War Establishment of Ryotwari System in Madras | |
| Lord Amherst (1823-1828) | First Anglo Burmese War in 1824-1826 |
After the passing of the Charter Act of 1833, the post of Governor-General of Bengal was converted into the Governor-General of India. William Bentinck became the first Governor-general of India.
Lists of the Governor-General of India between 1833 and 1858 are given below in the table.
| Name | Notable Events | Appointer |
| Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835) | Abolition of Sati System in 1829 Christian Missionaries get exclusive rights to spread Christianity in British India. | East India Company (1773-1858) |
| Lord Auckland (1836-1842) | First Anglo Afghan War Established the Bank of Bombay | |
| Lord Ellenborough (1842-1844) | Established the Bank of Madras British defeat Marathas in the Gwalior war | |
| Henry Hardinge (1844-1848) | First Anglo-Sikh war and treaty of Lahore (1846) Treaty of Bhairowal in 1846 | |
| Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856) | Charter Act of 1853 Second Anglo-Sikh war Annexation of Lower Burma The Post office Act in 1854 | |
| Lord Canning (1856-1858) | In 1857, Indian Rebellion Remarriage Act of Hindu Widows in 1856 |
After the revolt in 1857, the Company rule was abolished and India came under the direct control of the British Crown by the Government of India Act 1858. This Act changed the name of the post of the Governor-General of India to Viceroy of India. Lord Canning became the first Viceroy of India.
Lists of Viceroy of India between 1858 and 1947 are given below in the table.
| Name | Notable Events | Appointer |
| Lord Canning (1858-1862) | The Government of India Act of 1858 Abolition of East India Rule Indian Councils Act of 1861 Establishment of Archaeological Survey of India | Victoria (1837-1901) |
| Lord Elign (1862-1863) | Establishment of High Court Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras in 1862 Wahabi movement suppressed | |
| Lord John Lawrence (1864-1869) | Establishment of Allahabad High Court in 1866 Bhutan war and Assam and Bengal Duars | |
| Lord Mayo (1869-1872) | Establishment of the department of commerce and agriculture | |
| Lord Northbrook (1872-1876) | Jyotiba Phula launches the Satyashodhak Samaj against caste system and untouchability in 1873. | |
| Lord Lytton (1876-1880) | Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880) Arms Act in 1878 | |
| Lord Ripon (1880-1884) | First complete Census Hunter Commission on education in 1882 The first Factory Act in 1881. | |
| Lord Dufferin (1884-1888) | The third Burmese War Establishment of Indian National Congress in 1885 | |
| Lord Lansdowne (1888-1894) | Factory Act in 1891 Indian Councils Act of 1892 | |
| Lord Elgin (1894-1899)
| In 1897, the establishment of Ramkrishana Mission by Swami Vivekananda at Belur Math. | |
| Lord Curzon (1899-1905)
| Partition of Bengal in 1905 Indian Universities Act in 1904 | |
| Lord Minto (1905-1910)
| In 1906, the establishment of Muslim League by Aga khan The Indian councils Act of 1909 | Edward VII (1901- 1910) |
| Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916)
| In 1911, transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi In 1914, McMahon border was created between India and China. | George VI (1936-1952) |
| Lord Chelmsford (1916-1921)
| In 1916, Lucknow Pact Government of India Act of 1919 In 1919, Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre In 1917, Champaran Satyagraha | |
| Lord Reading (1921-1926)
| In 1921, Malabar rebellion In 1922, establishment of Swaraj Party In 1925, RSS Foundation | |
| Lord Irwin (1926-1931)
| Simon Commission in 1927 In 1930, First Round Table Conference In 1931, execution of Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar | |
| Lord Willingdon (1931-1936)
| The Government of India Act 1935 In 1934, the Reserve Bank of India Act In 1932, Poona Pact between Gandhi and Ambedkar | |
| Lord Linlithgow (1936-1944)
| In 1941, formation of the Indian National Army In 1942, Cripps Mission In 1942, Quit India Movement | George VI (1936-1952) |
| Lord Wavell (1944-1947)
| In 1945, Simla Conference Cabinet Mission in 1946 In 1946, Direct Action Day In 1946, mutiny in the Royal Navy | |
| Lord Mountbatten (21 Feb 1947-15 Aug 1947) | The Indian Independence Act of 1947 |
After the independence of India, the office of the Governor-General continued to exist as a ceremonial post in India until India adopted a republican constitution in 1950.
Lists of the Governor-General of the Dominion of India between 1947 and 1950 are given below in the table.
| Name | Notable Events | Appointer |
| Lord Mountbatten (15 Aug 1947-21 June 1948) | First Governor-General of Dominion of India | George VI (1936-1952) |
| Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1948-1950) | Last Governor-General of India, before the office was permanently abolished in 1950 |
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