Literature

Tirukkural appears in print for the first time

The first known printed edition of the Tirukkural was produced in 1812, together with the Naladiyar.

Birth of Tamil scholar Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai

Tamil poet and teacher Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, later the teacher of U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, was born near Tiruchirappalli.

Abbe Dubois's account of south Indian customs published

Abbe J. A. Dubois's account of south Indian customs and institutions appeared in London in an English translation.

Arumuka Navalar receives his title at Thiruvaduthurai

Travelling to Madras to acquire a printing press, Jaffna scholar Arumuka Pillai received the title Navalar from the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam.

Birth of U. V. Swaminatha Iyer

U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, later famed for recovering and printing many lost classical Tamil texts, was born near Kumbakonam.

Damodaram Pillai prints Tolkappiyam with Senavaraiyar's commentary

C. W. Damodaram Pillai published the Sollathikaram of the Tolkappiyam with the medieval commentary of Senavaraiyar, an early printed edition of the grammar.

Death of Tamil scholar Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai

The poet Mahavidwan Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, teacher of U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, died and left behind a large hoard of palm-leaf manuscripts.

First Tamil novel, Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, published

Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai published Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, regarded as the first novel in the Tamil language.

Caldwell's History of Tinnevelly published

The Madras government published Bishop Robert Caldwell's history of Tirunelveli district, drawn from manuscripts, Sangam texts and his own digs.

Birth of poet Subramania Bharati

Subramania Bharati, a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and a nationalist journalist, was born at Ettayapuram.

C. W. Damodaram Pillai publishes Tolkappiyam commentary

C. W. Damodaram Pillai published the Porulatikaram of the Tolkappiyam with Nachinarkiniyar's commentary, part of his revival of ancient Tamil texts.

G. U. Pope publishes his English Tirukkural

Missionary scholar G. U. Pope published 'The Sacred Kurral', an English translation of the Tirukkural with grammar, notes and lexicon.

U. V. Swaminatha Iyer publishes Jeevaka Chintamani

U. V. Swaminatha Iyer published Jeevaka Chintamani, the first of his editions of classical Tamil works recovered from palm-leaf manuscripts.

U. V. Swaminatha Iyer publishes Purananuru

After years of manuscript research, U. V. Swaminatha Iyer published an edition of the Sangam anthology Purananuru with notes.

Subramania Bharati goes into exile in Pondicherry

Facing an arrest warrant, the poet and journalist Subramania Bharati moved to French-ruled Pondicherry, where he lived for about ten years.

Thiru. Vi. Ka. launches Navasakthi

Tamil scholar and labour leader Thiru. V. Kalyanasundaram started the Tamil weekly Navasakthi.

Death of Subramania Bharati

The poet and nationalist Subramania Bharati died in Madras, leaving a body of work central to modern Tamil literature.

Ananda Vikatan launched

Ananda Vikatan started life as a Tamil monthly, and S. S. Vasan acquired and relaunched it in 1928.

Kudi Arasu editorial on Bhagat Singh's execution

Writing in Kudi Arasu, Periyar faulted Gandhi over Bhagat Singh's execution, a sign of the journal's increasingly leftist stance.

The Indian Express founded in Madras

P. Varadarajulu Naidu started the English daily The Indian Express in Madras; it was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka.

Manikkodi literary weekly launched

Launched in Madras, the Tamil literary weekly Manikkodi gave modern Tamil short fiction a platform.

Dinamani launched

The Tamil daily Dinamani published its first edition on 11 September; it later became part of the Indian Express group.

Viduthalai newspaper launched

Viduthalai began as a Justice Party bi-weekly and became a daily under Periyar in 1937.

Kalki magazine launched

Writer R. Krishnamurthy (Kalki) and T. Sadasivam launched the Tamil weekly Kalki, which serialised popular historical novels.

Karunanidhi starts Murasoli at Tiruvarur

An 18-year-old M. Karunanidhi started Murasoli at Tiruvarur as handwritten notices; it later became the DMK's newspaper.

Daily Thanthi founded at Madurai

S. P. Adithanar founded the Tamil daily Dina Thanthi in Madurai; it became the largest-circulating Tamil newspaper.

Kalki begins Sivagamiyin Sapatham

Kalki Krishnamurthy began serialising Sivagamiyin Sapatham, a historical novel set in the Pallava period.

Bharathidasan wins the Golden Parrot Prize

For his play Amaithi-Oomai, the Tamil poet Bharathidasan received the Golden Parrot Prize.

Subramania Bharati's works nationalised

The Madras government nationalised the writings of poet Subramania Bharati, the first such step for any poet in India.

Death of writer Kalki Krishnamurthy

Kalki R. Krishnamurthy, journalist and author of popular Tamil historical novels, died in Madras.

First Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil

R. P. Sethu Pillai received the first Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil for his essay collection Tamil Inbam.

Death of poet Bharathidasan

Bharathidasan, the rationalist Tamil poet influenced by Subramania Bharati and Periyar, died in Madras.

Akilan becomes the first Tamil writer to win the Jnanpith

Novelist Akilan received the Jnanpith Award for his novel Chithirappavai, the first for a Tamil writer.

First Madras Book Fair held

Organised by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India, the first Madras Book Fair later developed into the yearly Chennai Book Fair.