Literature

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.

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.

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.

Ellis publishes the Dravidian Proof

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

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.

Madras Literary Society founded

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

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.

Death of Serfoji II of Thanjavur

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

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.

Higginbotham's bookshop founded in Madras

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Birth of C. Rajagopalachari

C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), later Chief Minister of Madras and the last Governor-General of India, was born at Thorapalli.

First Tamil novel, Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, published

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

Death of Shaiva reformer Arumuka Navalar

Arumuka Navalar, the Jaffna scholar who revived Shaiva Tamil learning in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu and printed early Tamil classics, died.

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.

Suguna Vilasa Sabha theatre company founded

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

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.

Connemara Public Library opens

The Connemara Public Library, founded in 1890 by Governor Lord Connemara, opened to the public in Madras in 1896.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Manikkodi literary weekly launched

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

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.

Sathi Leelavathi released, M. G. Ramachandran's debut

Ellis R. Dungan's Sathi Leelavathi was released, marking the film debuts of M. G. Ramachandran and other future stars.

Death of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai

Nationalist pioneer V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, who had started the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, died in Thoothukudi.

Kalki magazine launched

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

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.

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.

Death of C. Rajagopalachari

C. Rajagopalachari, once Governor-General, Chief Minister of Madras and founder of the Swatantra Party, died in Madras at 94.

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.

Valluvar Kottam inaugurated

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

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.

Fifth World Tamil Conference held in Madurai

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

Bharathidasan University established in Tiruchirappalli

The state government established Bharathidasan University at Tiruchirappalli, named after the Tamil poet Bharathidasan.

Bharathiar University established in Coimbatore

Bharathiar University, named after the poet Subramania Bharati, was established as a state university in Coimbatore.

Investigative magazine Nakkheeran launched

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

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University founded at Tirunelveli

A state university for the southern districts, named after the Tamil scholar Manonmaniam Sundaranar, was established at Tirunelveli.

Eighth World Tamil Conference held in Thanjavur

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

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.

Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam

A village development programme of the Karunanidhi government aimed to give every village panchayat basic infrastructure, including a library.

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.

World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore

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

Kalaignar Centenary Library opens in Madurai

A large state-run public library named after M. Karunanidhi was opened in Madurai.