British Rule

Second Polygar War

One year after Kattabomman was executed, a broad coalition of Tamil palayakkarars and their allies revolted against the East India Company.

Pudukkottai comes under Company protection

Through a subsidiary alliance, the Tondaiman state of Pudukkottai came under the protection of the East India Company.

Carnatic Treaty transfers the Carnatic to the Company

Nawab Azim-ud-Daula signed the Carnatic Treaty, handing the civil and military administration of the Carnatic to the East India Company.

Goldingham sets Madras time

Astronomer John Goldingham of the Madras Observatory fixed Madras time at 5 hours 21 minutes ahead of Greenwich.

Sivaganga settled on Gowri Vallaba Thevar

After the Maruthu brothers were executed, Sivaganga was settled in 1803 as a permanent estate on Gowri Vallaba Thevar.

Coimbatore district formed with Coimbatore as its capital

Coimbatore district was formed by the Company, with Coimbatore town as its headquarters.

Vellore Mutiny

Indian sepoys of the Madras Army rose against the East India Company at Vellore Fort over new dress regulations.

John Binny establishes Binny & Co in Madras

Merchant John Binny, in Madras since 1797, established the firm of Binny & Co, one of the city's oldest mercantile houses.

Hugh Elliot becomes Governor of Madras

Diplomat Hugh Elliot, earlier Governor of the Leeward Islands, governed the Madras Presidency from 1814 to 1820.

Tranquebar handed back to Denmark

Britain returned Tranquebar (Tharangambadi), occupied since 1808 during the Napoleonic Wars, to Danish rule on 20 September 1815.

John Sullivan explores the Nilgiris

Coimbatore Collector John Sullivan set out to explore the Nilgiri hills, leading to the founding of Ootacamund.

Death of Nawab Azim-ud-Daula; Azam Jah succeeds

Azim-ud-Daula, the Nawab of the Carnatic who had signed away his civil administration to the Company in 1801, died and was succeeded by Azam Jah.

Thomas Munro becomes Governor of Madras

Thomas Munro served as Governor of Madras, establishing revenue and administrative systems that lasted into the twentieth century.

Dutch possessions on the Coromandel Coast pass to Britain

Under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the Dutch ceded their Coromandel settlements, including Pulicat, to the British on 1 June 1825.

Bishop Reginald Heber dies at Tiruchirappalli

Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta and hymn-writer, died suddenly at Trichinopoly during a tour of South India.

Ootacamund becomes a sanatorium of the Madras Presidency

By 1827 Ootacamund in the Nilgiris had been established as a sanatorium of the Madras Presidency.

Recruitment of Tamil labourers for Ceylon plantations begins

Labourers from the Tirunelveli, Tiruchi, Madurai and Tanjore areas were recruited for British coffee estates in Ceylon.

Governor Thomas Munro dies of cholera

Sir Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras and architect of the ryotwari system, died of cholera at Pattikonda while on tour.

St. Stephen's Church founded at Ooty

St. Stephen's Church at Ootacamund, whose foundation stone Governor Stephen Lushington laid, opened for worship in 1831.

Thomas Glanville Taylor takes charge of the Madras Observatory

T. G. Taylor came to Madras as head of the observatory, where he compiled the Madras Catalogue of Stars.

Madras Pioneers renamed the Madras Sappers and Miners

The Madras Pioneers, raised in 1780, were renamed the Corps of Madras Sappers and Miners in 1831.

Shivaji II becomes Raja of Thanjavur

Shivaji, son of Serfoji II, was crowned at the Durbar Hall of Tanjore Fort and became the last Raja of Thanjavur.

Madras Club founded

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

Anglican Diocese of Madras created

Daniel Corrie was consecrated the first Bishop of Madras, and St. George's Church became the cathedral of the new diocese.

Equestrian statue of Thomas Munro unveiled

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

Madras General Hospital opens to Indians

Once reserved for Europeans, the Madras General Hospital moved to a new H-shaped building and admitted Indians.

Denmark sells Tranquebar to the British

Denmark sold its settlement of Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) to the East India Company, ending Danish rule on the Tamil coast.

Wellington cantonment established in the Nilgiris

The military station of Jakkatalla in the Nilgiris was renamed Wellington and construction of its barracks began.

Madras Native Association petition read in the House of Lords

The Earl of Ellenborough read the Madras Native Association's catalogue of grievances in the House of Lords.

University of Madras holds its first B.A. examination

The University of Madras, founded in 1857, conducted its first Bachelor of Arts examination; C. W. Damodaram Pillai was among its first candidates.

Lawrence Asylum founded at Lovedale in the Nilgiris

A Lawrence military asylum for the children of British soldiers opened at Lovedale near Ooty; it became the Lawrence School.

Crown takes over the government of India

Following the Government of India Act 1858, a proclamation by Queen Victoria declared direct Crown rule over British India, the Madras Presidency included.

Governor Charles Trevelyan recalled

Madras Governor Sir Charles Trevelyan was recalled after his government publicly opposed James Wilson's new taxation proposals for India.

Cinchona introduced to the Nilgiris

Cinchona plants brought from South America by Clements Markham's expedition were planted at Ootacamund as a source of quinine.

Indentured labourers from Madras arrive in Natal on the Truro

Organised Indian settlement in the British colony of Natal began with the Truro, which brought 342 indentured labourers from Madras.

Indian Councils Act restores Madras legislative powers

Through the Indian Councils Act 1861, the Madras Presidency regained law-making powers and gained an advisory Madras Legislative Council.

Madras Railway reaches the west coast at Beypore

The Madras Railway completed its line to Beypore, linking Madras by rail with the west coast; a branch to Bangalore followed in 1864.

Indian Penal Code comes into force

Drafted under Macaulay and enacted in 1860, the Indian Penal Code took effect throughout British India, the Madras Presidency included.

Madras High Court established

Crown Letters Patent created the High Court of Judicature at Madras in place of the Supreme Court of Madras.

Robert Bruce Foote finds Palaeolithic tool at Pallavaram

Geologist Robert Bruce Foote discovered a Palaeolithic hand axe at Pallavaram near Madras, the first conclusive find of its kind in India.

Spencer's begins trading in Madras

Spencer's started as a small business in Madras in 1864 and grew into what was then the largest department store in Asia.

Lord Napier becomes Governor of Madras

Diplomat Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier, governed the Madras Presidency from 1866 to 1872 and briefly acted as Governor-General.

Nilgiris separated from Coimbatore district

In August 1868 the Nilgiri hills were detached from Coimbatore district and given a commissioner of their own.

The Madras Mail newspaper founded

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

Napier Bridge built over the Cooum

Planned by Governor Lord Napier, a cast iron lattice bridge went up over the Cooum's mouth, joining Fort St. George to the Marina side.

Carnatic Railway Company founded

Founded in 1869, the Carnatic Railway Company combined with the Great Southern of India Railway in 1874 to create the South Indian Railway.

Madras and Bombay linked by rail at Raichur

At Raichur the Madras Railway met the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, opening a through rail route from Madras to Bombay.

Madras Central railway station built

Designed by George Harding and later altered by Robert Chisholm, Madras Central station was put up by the Madras Railway as its terminus in the city.

South Indian Railway Company formed

In 1874 the Great Southern of India Railway merged with the Carnatic Railway to create the South Indian Railway Company, later based at Trichinopoly.

Senate House of the University of Madras completed

Built from 1874 to 1879 to a design by Robert Chisholm, the Senate House on the Marina was an early Indo-Saracenic landmark.

First women students admitted to Madras Medical College

Mary Scharlieb and three other women entered Madras Medical College in 1875, among the first women to study medicine in India.

Madras Observatory begins daily weather reports

The Madras Observatory started issuing daily weather reports, an early step in organised weather forecasting in south India.

Governor Lord Hobart dies in office

Lord Hobart, Governor of Madras since May 1872, died unexpectedly of typhoid at Government House, Madras.

Great Famine of 1876-1878

Brought on by drought, a severe famine hit the Madras Presidency and other regions of India, killing millions.

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.

Red Hills (Puzhal) reservoir built for Madras

The Puzhal reservoir at Red Hills was built to supply water to Madras, and remains one of the city's main reservoirs.

T. Muthuswamy Iyer becomes first Indian judge of Madras High Court

T. Muthuswamy Iyer became the first Indian to be appointed a judge of the Madras High Court, a decision that caused controversy at the time.

Salem riots of 1882

Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Salem over a procession route past a new mosque; the trials that followed made C. Vijayaraghavachariar famous.

Victoria Public Hall built in Madras

The foundation stone of Victoria Public Hall, the town hall of Madras, was laid in 1883; it was named after Queen Victoria in 1888.

Madras Mahajana Sabha formed

The Madras Mahajana Sabha, an early political association of educated Indians in the Madras Presidency, was formed in 1884.

Governor Grant Duff creates the Marina promenade

Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff laid out a promenade along the Madras beach in 1884 and named it the Marina.

Madras delegates at the first Indian National Congress

Of the 72 delegates at the first session of the Indian National Congress in Bombay, 22 came from the Madras Presidency.

Indian National Congress holds first Madras session

The third session of the Indian National Congress met in Madras under the presidency of Badruddin Tyabji.

The Hindu becomes a daily newspaper

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

Madras High Court building inaugurated

After three decades in temporary quarters, the Madras High Court moved into its Indo-Saracenic complex, inaugurated on 12 July 1892.

Congress session in Madras presided by Alfred Webb

In December 1894 Madras hosted the tenth Indian National Congress session, presided over by Alfred Webb, an Irish nationalist MP.

Famine of 1896-1897 reaches the Madras Presidency

A famine that began in Bundelkhand in 1896 spread across India, including parts of the Madras Presidency, where grain exports continued.

Congress session in Madras presided by Ananda Mohan Bose

The fourteenth session of the Indian National Congress met in Madras in December 1898 under Ananda Mohan Bose.

Kodaikanal Solar Observatory founded

Solar research moved from the Madras Observatory to a new observatory at Kodaikanal, where the Evershed effect was discovered in 1909.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway opens to Coonoor

In June 1899 the Nilgiris rack railway between Mettupalayam and Coonoor was finished and began carrying traffic.

Congress session in Madras presided by Lalmohan Ghosh

The nineteenth Congress session met in Madras in December 1903; president Lalmohan Ghosh called for compulsory primary education.

Kumbakonam Bank, later City Union Bank, incorporated

Kumbakonam Bank Limited was incorporated on 31 October 1904 as a regional bank; it later became City Union Bank.

Pasteur Institute of Southern India opens at Coonoor

The Pasteur Institute of Southern India began work at Coonoor in April 1907 and became a major producer of anti-rabies vaccine.

Congress session in Madras after the Surat split

A year after the Congress split at Surat, the moderate-led Congress met in Madras in December 1908 under Rash Behari Ghosh.

Morley-Minto reforms

The Indian Councils Act 1909 introduced elections to the legislative councils, including Madras, and admitted Indians to the Madras executive council.

Ramanathapuram district formed

Ramanathapuram (Ramnad) district was created by combining parts of Madurai and Tirunelveli districts.

Congress session in Madras presided by Bhupendra Nath Bose

The Indian National Congress held its 1914 annual session in Madras under Bhupendra Nath Bose, months after the First World War began.

First Madras Presidency cricket match

The Madras Presidency Match, a yearly cricket contest between Europeans and Indians also called the Pongal match, started on the final day of 1915.

Government of India Act 1919 introduces dyarchy

Based on the Montagu-Chelmsford Report, the Act introduced dyarchy in the provinces, including Madras, transferring some subjects to elected ministers.

Perungamanallur police firing

Police fired on Piramalai Kallar villagers at Perungamanallur near Madurai who resisted registration under the Criminal Tribes Act.

Justice Party wins first Madras Legislative Council election

The Justice Party won the first election held under the Montagu-Chelmsford dyarchy reforms in the Madras Presidency.

A. Subbarayalu Reddiar becomes first Premier of Madras

A. Subbarayalu Reddiar of the Justice Party took office as the first Chief Minister (Premier) of the Madras Presidency.

Madras grants voting rights to women

The Madras Legislative Council resolved to extend the franchise to women, among the first provinces in British India to do so.

Bank of Madras merged into the Imperial Bank of India

The Bank of Madras, one of three Presidency banks, was amalgamated with the banks of Bengal and Bombay to form the Imperial Bank of India.

Justice Party wins second council election

The Justice Party retained power in the 1923 Madras Legislative Council election despite internal dissent.

SS Rajula begins the Madras to Penang and Singapore service

The steamer SS Rajula ran a fortnightly Straits Service from Madras to Penang, Port Klang and Singapore from 1926 to 1972.

S. Srinivasa Iyengar presides over Gauhati Congress

S. Srinivasa Iyengar, a Swarajist leader from Madras, was president of the Indian National Congress at its Gauhati session.

P. Subbarayan forms independent ministry

After the Swaraj Party won the 1926 election but declined office, P. Subbarayan formed a ministry of independents with nominated support.

V. S. Srinivasa Sastri becomes India's Agent in South Africa

The Union of South Africa received its first Agent from India: V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, a Liberal leader from Madras.

Madras session of the Indian National Congress

The annual Congress session held in Madras under M. A. Ansari called for complete independence and a boycott of the Simon Commission.

Simon Commission boycott in Madras

Protesters in Madras demonstrated against the Simon Commission, and T. Prakasam famously defied police during the protest.

Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha

C. Rajagopalachari led a march from Tiruchirappalli to Vedaranyam to break the salt law, the Tamil counterpart of the Dandi March.

Rettamalai Srinivasan at the Round Table Conference

Dalit leader Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the depressed classes alongside B. R. Ambedkar at the Round Table Conferences in London.

M. C. Rajah and the Rajah-Moonje Pact

Dalit leader M. C. Rajah of Madras agreed with B. S. Moonje to reserved seats within joint electorates for the depressed classes.

Death of Tiruppur Kumaran

Freedom fighter Tiruppur Kumaran died of injuries from a police assault during a protest march, holding the national flag.

Swarajists largest party in 1934 Madras council election

The Swaraj Party won the most seats in the last dyarchy-era Madras council election but refused office; the Raja of Bobbili stayed on.

Congress wins 1937 Madras Presidency election

The Indian National Congress won a large majority in the first Madras Legislative Assembly election under provincial autonomy, routing the Justice Party.

K. V. Reddi Naidu heads interim ministry

When the Congress hesitated to take office after winning the 1937 election, the Governor installed an interim ministry under K. V. Reddi Naidu.

C. Rajagopalachari forms first Congress ministry

C. Rajagopalachari became Premier of Madras at the head of the first Congress government in the Presidency.

Thyaga Bhoomi released and banned

Thyaga Bhoomi, K. Subramanyam's nationalist film adapted from a Kalki story, was banned by the British administration after release.

Congress ministry resigns over the Second World War

The Rajagopalachari ministry resigned in protest against the Viceroy declaring India at war without consultation, and Governor's rule followed.

Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary established

About 60 square km of forest in the Nilgiris district was set aside as the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

1946 Madras Presidency election

The Congress won a majority in the 1946 Madras Legislative Assembly election, ending the period of Governor's rule.

A. Ramaswami Mudaliar becomes first ECOSOC president

Arcot Ramaswami Mudaliar, a Justice Party leader from Madras, was the first President of the UN Economic and Social Council.

Royal Indian Navy mutiny reaches Madras

A revolt by Indian ratings of the Royal Indian Navy that began in Bombay spread to ships and shore establishments including Madras.