Tamil Nadu in the 1810s

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.

Charter Act of 1813

Renewing the Company's charter, Parliament abolished its India trade monopoly, admitted missionaries and funded education.

Channar revolt over the upper cloth

Nadar women in southern Travancore, including today's Kanyakumari district, struggled for decades for the right to cover their upper bodies.

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.

Church Missionary Society begins work in Madras

After the Charter Act of 1813 allowed missionaries into India, the Church Missionary Society placed its first missionaries at Madras in 1814.

St. George's Church built in Madras

St. George's Church on the Choultry Plain was opened in 1815 and later became the cathedral of the Diocese of Madras.

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.

Tranquebar handed back to Denmark

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

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.

Pondicherry and Karaikal restored to France

After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain returned Pondicherry, Karaikal and the other French settlements in India to France in 1816.

Madras Literary Society founded

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

Madras Regulation VII of 1817 on temple endowments

The Madras government passed Regulation VII of 1817, the first explicit Company legislation on the management of temple endowments.

Ellis orders new wells during the Madras water shortage

During a severe drinking water shortage in Madras, Collector Francis Whyte Ellis had 27 wells dug, one bearing a Tamil inscription honouring Thiruvalluvar.

LMS seminary moves to Nagercoil

Charles Mead shifted the London Missionary Society's seminary from Mylaudy to Nagercoil, where it grew into Scott Christian College.

Madras Eye Infirmary established

The Madras Eye Infirmary, now the Egmore Eye Hospital, was founded and is regarded as the oldest eye hospital in Asia.

John Sullivan explores the Nilgiris

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

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 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.