Tamil Nadu in the 1840s

Madras Preparatory School, forerunner of Presidency College

A government preparatory school opened in Madras in 1840; it grew into the High School and eventually Presidency College.

Ice House built on the Madras beach

Frederic Tudor built the Ice House facing the sea at Madras to store ice shipped from America; it is now Vivekanandar Illam.

Madras General Hospital opens to Indians

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

Parry's sugar factory at Nellikuppam

The firm founded by Thomas Parry set up a sugar plant at Nellikuppam, described as the first in India.

Pachaiyappa's Central Institution opens

Funded by the bequest of merchant Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, Pachaiyappa's Central Institution opened in Madras.

Indian Slavery Act abolishes legal slavery

Under Act V of 1843, slavery lost legal recognition in Company territories, agrestic slavery in the Tamil districts included.

First emigrant ship from Madras reaches Mauritius

Britain allowed emigration from Madras to Mauritius again in December 1842, and the first ship from Madras reached the island in April 1843.

Bank of Madras formed

The Bank of Madras, one of the three Presidency banks, came into being through the merger of several banks in Madras.

Jesuits found St. Joseph's College at Nagapattinam

French Jesuits opened a college at Nagapattinam that later moved to Tiruchirappalli as St. Joseph's College.

Higginbotham's bookshop founded in Madras

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

Madras's first standalone lighthouse begins operation

A granite Doric column built north of Fort St. George began working as Madras's lighthouse on 1 January 1844.

The Crescent, first Indian-owned newspaper in Madras

The Crescent, launched by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty, was the Madras Presidency's first newspaper under Indian ownership.

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.

Kodaikanal hill station established

In the Palani Hills, American missionaries from the Madurai Mission founded Kodaikanal as an escape from the summer heat.

Madras Railway Company formed

The Madras Railway was established to build the first main line railways of South India.

Death of Tyagaraja

Tyagaraja, the most celebrated composer of the Carnatic Trinity, died at Thiruvaiyaru on the banks of the Kaveri.

Government Botanical Garden laid out at Ooty

William Graham McIvor of Kew laid out the Government Botanical Garden at Ootacamund.

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.