1800sSecond Polygar War; Carnatic Treaty transfers the Carnatic to the Company; Execution of the Maruthu brothers18
1810sCollege of Fort St. George founded; Tirukkural appears in print for the first time; Charter Act of 181321
1820sThomas Munro becomes Governor of Madras; Ryotwari system adopted in Madras Presidency15
1830sPorto Novo iron works established; Thomas Glanville Taylor takes charge of the Madras Observatory; First census of Madras city22
1840sMadras Preparatory School, forerunner of Presidency College; Ice House built on the Madras beach; Madras General Hospital opens to Indians18
1850sMadras Native Association founded; Caldwell's Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian languages; First train in South India, Royapuram to Wallajah Road21
1860sIndian Councils Act restores Madras legislative powers; Madras High Court established19
1870sGreat Famine of 1876-1878; The Hindu newspaper founded24
1880sU. V. Swaminatha Iyer publishes Jeevaka Chintamani23
1900sV. O. Chidambaram Pillai founds the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company; Subramania Bharati goes into exile in Pondicherry; Arrest of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Tirunelveli unrest23
1910sAssassination of Collector Robert Ashe; Annie Besant launches the Home Rule League at Adyar; South Indian Liberal Federation (Justice Party) founded38
1920sJustice Party wins first Madras Legislative Council election; First Communal Government Order on reservation; Vaikom Satyagraha48
1930sVedaranyam Salt Satyagraha; Mettur Dam completed; C. Rajagopalachari forms first Congress ministry65
1940sJustice Party becomes Dravidar Kazhagam at Salem; India becomes independent; Madras Province; Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam founded50
1950sMadras State established under the Constitution; Supreme Court strikes down the Communal G.O. in Champakam Dorairajan case; First Amendment enables reservation for backward classes46
1960sKamaraj becomes Congress president and 'kingmaker'; 1965 anti-Hindi agitation; DMK wins the 1967 Assembly election58
1970sReservation raised to 49 percent; MGR expelled from DMK; AIADMK founded; Death of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy70
1980sIncome ceiling withdrawn, backward class quota raised to 50%; Nutritious Noon Meal Scheme launched; Black July and the arrival of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees77
1990sAssassination of Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperumbudur; Jayalalithaa becomes Chief Minister for the first time; 69% reservation Act placed in the Ninth Schedule88
2000sTamil declared a classical language; 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami strikes the Tamil Nadu coast83
2010sJayalalithaa convicted in disproportionate assets case; 2015 Chennai floods; Death of J. Jayalalithaa100
2020sCOVID-19 pandemic reaches Tamil Nadu; DMK wins 2021 election; M. K. Stalin becomes Chief Minister; Supreme Court rules against Governor's withholding of bills89