Culture

Serfoji II sets up a Devanagari press at Thanjavur

At Thanjavur, Serfoji II founded the Nava Vidya Kalasala press, the first in South India to print Devanagari.

Madras Literary Society founded

In 1817 a learned society and library, the Madras Literary Society, was established in Madras.

Death of composer Syama Sastri

Syama Sastri, the eldest of the Trinity of Carnatic music, died in 1827.

Death of Serfoji II of Thanjavur

Serfoji II, Thanjavur's scholarly ruler who had handed its administration to the Company in 1799, passed away.

Madras Club founded

Founded for Europeans only, the Madras Club is among the oldest gentlemen's clubs in India.

Death of composer Muthuswami Dikshitar

Muthuswami Dikshitar, one of the Trinity of Carnatic music, died at Ettayapuram on Deepavali day.

Equestrian statue of Thomas Munro unveiled

Francis Chantrey's bronze equestrian statue of Governor Thomas Munro was ceremonially opened on the Island in Madras.

Higginbotham's bookshop founded in Madras

Abel Joshua Higginbotham founded Higginbotham's on Mount Road, regarded as India's oldest bookshop still in existence.

Death of Tyagaraja

Tyagaraja, the most celebrated composer of the Carnatic Trinity, died at Thiruvaiyaru on the banks of the Kaveri.

Madras School of Art founded

Surgeon Alexander Hunter founded a private art school in Madras, today's Government College of Fine Arts.

Government Museum, Madras founded

Built on collections donated by the Madras Literary Society, the Madras Government Museum, India's second oldest, was founded.

Birth of Tamil theatre pioneer Sankaradas Swamigal

Tuticorin was the birthplace of Sankaradas Swamigal, the playwright whose boys' drama companies trained many Tamil stage and screen artists.

The Madras Mail newspaper founded

Charles Lawson and Henry Cornish started The Madras Mail, an English-language evening daily that was published until 1981.

Excavations at Adichanallur

The ancient burial site of Adichanallur near Tirunelveli drew attention in 1876 and was excavated by Alexander Rea between 1899 and 1905.

The Hindu newspaper founded

Founded in Madras as a weekly, The Hindu was started by the Triplicane Six, among them G. Subramania Iyer and M. Veeraraghavachariar.

Swadesamitran Tamil newspaper launched

G. Subramania Iyer started Swadesamitran, the first Tamil newspaper owned and run by Indians, in Madras.

The Hindu becomes a daily newspaper

The Hindu, founded as a weekly in 1878 by the 'Triplicane Six', began publishing daily in 1889.

Suguna Vilasa Sabha theatre company founded

Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar founded the Suguna Vilasa Sabha in Madras to revive and reform Tamil drama.

Kasturi Ranga Iyengar acquires The Hindu

S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar bought The Hindu in 1905; it has remained with his family since.

Abraham Pandithar's Tamil music conferences at Thanjavur

Abraham Pandithar set up the Sangeetha Vidhyalaya Mahajana Sangam, which held six music conferences between 1912 and 1914.

Abraham Pandithar publishes Karunamirdha Sagaram

Abraham Pandithar published Karunamirdha Sagaram, a large study of the history and theory of Tamil music.

Saraswathi Mahal Library opened to the public

The manuscript library of the Thanjavur Maratha rulers, enriched by Serfoji II, was opened to the public in 1918.

Thyagaraja memorial temple at Thiruvaiyaru consecrated

Bangalore Nagarathnamma built a temple over the samadhi of the composer Thyagaraja at Thiruvaiyaru, the site of the annual Aradhana festival.

Periyar launches Kudi Arasu

E. V. Ramasamy began publishing the Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu, which became the main voice of the Self-Respect Movement.

Madras Music Academy founded

The Music Academy was founded in Madras following the 1927 Congress session and became a leading institution for Carnatic music.

Proposal to rename sadir as Bharatanatyam

E. Krishna Iyer moved a resolution at the Madras Music Academy to rename the dance form sadir as Bharatanatyam.

Rukmini Devi's first public Bharatanatyam performance

At the Theosophical Society's Diamond Jubilee convention, Rukmini Devi Arundale danced Bharatanatyam in public for the first time.

Kalakshetra founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale

Rukmini Devi Arundale founded Kalakshetra at Adyar, Madras, an academy for Bharatanatyam and the arts.

Tamil Isai Movement and Tamil Isai Sangam

The Tamil Isai Sangam was founded in Madras to promote the singing of Tamil compositions in Carnatic concerts dominated by Telugu and Sanskrit songs.

Rajaji and C. V. Raman among first Bharat Ratna recipients

C. Rajagopalachari and the physicist C. V. Raman, both from Tamil Nadu, were among the three first recipients of the Bharat Ratna.

Gandhi Memorial Museum opens in Madurai

Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the Gandhi Memorial Museum in the Rani Mangammal palace at Madurai.

M. S. Subbulakshmi sings at the United Nations

On UN Day 1966, Carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi sang at the United Nations General Assembly, the first Indian to do so.

Second World Tamil Conference held in Madras

Madras hosted the second International Tamil Research Conference, known as the World Tamil Conference, under the Annadurai government.

Statues of Tamil literary figures erected on the Marina

Statues of Tamil poets and scholars, including Kambar, Bharathiyar and Robert Caldwell, were unveiled on Marina Beach for the World Tamil Conference.

Auroville inaugurated near Pondicherry

The experimental international township of Auroville was inaugurated in Viluppuram district with delegates from 124 nations.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial opened at Kanyakumari

A memorial to Swami Vivekananda was completed on a rock off the coast of Kanyakumari after a nationwide fundraising campaign.

Television arrives in Madras with Doordarshan Kendra

Doordarshan began television broadcasts from Madras, the first TV station in South India.

Valluvar Kottam inaugurated

The Valluvar Kottam memorial to the poet Thiruvalluvar, begun under the DMK government, was inaugurated in Madras during President's rule.

Mahabalipuram monuments declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Pallava-era Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram became Tamil Nadu's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur, declared a World Heritage Site

The 11th-century Brihadisvara Temple built by Rajaraja I at Thanjavur was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Investigative magazine Nakkheeran launched

The Tamil biweekly Nakkheeran, founded and edited by Nakkheeran Gopal, published its first issue.

MGR memorial on the Marina inaugurated

The memorial to M. G. Ramachandran on Marina Beach, begun in 1988, was inaugurated by his widow V. N. Janaki Ramachandran.

Sun TV launched

Kalanithi Maran launched Sun TV, a Tamil general entertainment channel that grew into the Sun TV Network.

Raj TV launched

Raj TV, a Tamil general entertainment channel based in Chennai, was launched, adding to the new private satellite channels in the state.

M. S. Subbulakshmi becomes the first musician awarded the Bharat Ratna

Madurai-born Carnatic singer M. S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to be given the Bharat Ratna, the country's top civilian award.

Jaya TV launched

Jaya TV, a Tamil satellite channel founded by AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa, was launched in Chennai.

Thiruvalluvar Statue unveiled at Kanyakumari

A 133-foot stone statue of the poet Thiruvalluvar was unveiled on a rock off Kanyakumari on the millennium day.

First Madras Day celebration

Madras Day, held each 22 August, was first celebrated in Chennai, recalling the 1639 acquisition of the land where the city developed.

Kanchipuram silk registered as a geographical indication

Kanchipuram silk saris were one of the earliest Tamil Nadu products to gain registration as a geographical indication.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway added to UNESCO World Heritage list

UNESCO added the Nilgiri Mountain Railway as an extension of the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site.

First Chennai Sangamam folk arts festival

Chennai Sangamam, an open-air festival of Tamil folk and traditional arts around Pongal, was held for the first time with state government backing.

Tamil New Year moved to the first day of Thai

A DMK government law moved Tamil New Year to the first day of the Tamil month of Thai; the change was revoked in 2011.

World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore

The state government hosted the World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore to mark Tamil's classical status.

Millennium celebrations of the Thanjavur Big Temple

Thanjavur marked 1,000 years of the Brihadisvara Temple with cultural events, including a performance by 1,000 Bharatanatyam dancers.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam memorial opens at Rameswaram

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the DRDO-built memorial to A. P. J. Abdul Kalam at Peikarumbu, Rameswaram.

Keezhadi excavation report dates Sangam-era settlement

The Tamil Nadu archaeology department reported that finds at Keezhadi near Madurai date to about the 6th century BCE.

Tamil Nadu Day first observed on 1 November

The Palaniswami government began observing 1 November as Tamil Nadu Day; in 2022 the DMK government moved it to 18 July.

Keezhadi heritage museum opens

A museum displaying finds from the Keezhadi excavations was opened near the site in Sivaganga district.