Language

College of Fort St. George founded

Francis Whyte Ellis founded the College of Fort St. George in Madras to train officials in South Indian languages.

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.

Ellis publishes the Dravidian Proof

Francis Whyte Ellis argued that the South Indian languages form a family separate from Sanskrit.

Tamil scholar F. W. Ellis dies at Ramnad

Francis Whyte Ellis, Collector of Madras and founder of the College of Fort St. George, died of cholera on 10 March 1819 at Ramnad.

Robert Caldwell arrives in Madras

Robert Caldwell, who would go on to write the Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian languages, reached Madras as a missionary.

G. U. Pope begins mission work at Sawyerpuram

In 1839 George Uglow Pope set sail for South India and took up missionary work at Sawyerpuram, close to Thoothukudi.

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.

Caldwell's Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian languages

With his Comparative Grammar, Robert Caldwell showed that the Dravidian languages make up a separate language family.

Robert Caldwell consecrated Bishop of Tirunelveli

Missionary and Dravidian scholar Robert Caldwell, based at Idaiyangudi, was consecrated as a bishop for the Tirunelveli mission.

First Tamil novel, Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, published

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

Swadesamitran Tamil newspaper launched

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

Birth of Subramania Siva

Subramania Siva, independence activist, writer and associate of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, was born at Batlagundu.

Pandithurai Thevar founds the Fourth Tamil Sangam in Madurai

Pandithurai Thevar, a member of the Ramnad royal family, founded the Madurai Tamil Sangam, known as the Fourth Tamil Sangam, to promote Tamil learning.

Work begins on the University of Madras Tamil Lexicon

In January 1913 the University of Madras began work on the Tamil Lexicon, the most comprehensive Tamil dictionary, published in 1924-1939.

Maraimalai Adigal starts the Pure Tamil movement

Maraimalai Adigal pledged to use Tamil free of Sanskrit loanwords, starting the Tanittamil Iyakkam (Pure Tamil movement).

University of Madras completes the Tamil Lexicon

The final volume of the University of Madras Tamil Lexicon was published, completing the largest Tamil dictionary of its time.

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.

Gandhi presides over Hindi Prachar Sabha silver jubilee

Gandhi came to Madras to preside at the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha's silver jubilee.

First Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil

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

Official Languages Act passed

Parliament passed the Official Languages Act to allow continued use of English alongside Hindi after 1965.

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.

Official Languages (Amendment) Act guarantees bilingualism

Amid fresh protests in Madras State, Parliament amended the 1963 Act to ensure English would continue in use alongside Hindi.

International Institute of Tamil Studies founded

The state government established the International Institute of Tamil Studies in Madras for research on Tamil.

Invocation to Tamil Mother adopted for state functions

Chief Minister Karunanidhi announced that verses of Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai's invocation to Tamil Mother would open state government functions.

Fifth World Tamil Conference held in Madurai

The fifth World Tamil Conference, a gathering of Tamil scholars from many countries, was held in Madurai.

Tamil University founded at Thanjavur

The Tamil University was established in Thanjavur as a research university devoted to the Tamil language and culture.

Eighth World Tamil Conference held in Thanjavur

The eighth World Tamil Conference was hosted in Thanjavur by the Tamil Nadu government.

Tamil Virtual University established

To provide internet-based Tamil learning around the world, the Tamil Nadu government created the Tamil Virtual University, now the Tamil Virtual Academy.

Tamil declared a classical language

The Government of India declared Tamil the first classical language of India.

Central Institute of Classical Tamil moves to Chennai

The Union government's Centre of Excellence for Classical Tamil moved from Mysore to Chennai and became the Central Institute of Classical Tamil.

Dispute over NEP, three-language policy and school funds

Tamil Nadu refused to sign the PM SHRI agreement or adopt the three-language formula, and the Union withheld Samagra Shiksha funds.