Indian history · British era
Governors-General and Viceroys of India (1773–1947): Complete List with the Key Event of Each Tenure — Exam Notes
"Who was the Governor-General when…?" is one of the most common question types on modern Indian history. This guide gives the full list from 1773 to 1947, grouped by period, with the events and reforms linked to each name. Learn the anchor event for each and most questions become easy.
How the titles changed
| Period | Title | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 1773–1833 | Governor-General of Bengal (Fort William) | Regulating Act, 1773 |
| 1833–1858 | Governor-General of India | Charter Act, 1833; first was Lord William Bentinck |
| 1858–1947 | Governor-General and Viceroy (Viceroy as the Crown's representative) | Government of India Act, 1858; first Viceroy Lord Canning |
Governors-General of Bengal (1773–1833)
| Name | Tenure | Key events |
|---|---|---|
| Warren Hastings | 1773–1785 | First Governor-General; Regulating Act; Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774); Pitt's India Act (1784); Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784) founded by William Jones; First Anglo-Maratha War (Treaty of Salbai, 1782); Second Anglo-Mysore War; impeached in Britain (acquitted 1795) |
| Lord Cornwallis | 1786–1793 | Permanent Settlement (1793) of Bengal; Cornwallis Code; reorganised civil services ("father of the civil services"); separated revenue from justice; Third Anglo-Mysore War, Treaty of Seringapatam (1792) |
| Sir John Shore | 1793–1798 | Charter Act of 1793; Battle of Kharda between the Nizam and Marathas (1795); policy of non-intervention |
| Lord Wellesley | 1798–1805 | Subsidiary Alliance (first signed by the Nizam, 1798); Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799), Tipu killed; Treaty of Bassein (1802); Second Anglo-Maratha War; Fort William College (1800) |
| Lord Cornwallis (2nd term) | 1805 | Died at Ghazipur soon after arrival |
| Sir George Barlow | 1805–1807 | Vellore mutiny (1806) |
| Lord Minto I | 1807–1813 | Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Ranjit Singh; Charter Act 1813 |
| Lord Hastings (Marquess of Hastings) | 1813–1823 | Anglo-Nepal War (Treaty of Sugauli, 1816); Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18), Peshwaship abolished; Pindari war; Ryotwari (Munro, Madras, 1820) |
| Lord Amherst | 1823–1828 | First Anglo-Burmese War (Treaty of Yandabo, 1826); Barrackpore mutiny (1824) |
| Lord William Bentinck | 1828–1835 | Abolition of sati (1829) with Raja Ram Mohan Roy's support; suppression of thugee (William Sleeman); Charter Act 1833 (became Governor-General of India); English Education Act (1835) after Macaulay's Minute; Calcutta Medical College (1835) |
Governors-General of India (1833–1858)
| Name | Tenure | Key events |
|---|---|---|
| Lord William Bentinck | 1833–1835 | First Governor-General of India |
| Sir Charles Metcalfe | 1835–1836 | Removed restrictions on the press — "liberator of the Indian press" |
| Lord Auckland | 1836–1842 | First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42), disastrous retreat from Kabul |
| Lord Ellenborough | 1842–1844 | Annexation of Sindh (1843) by Charles Napier; Gwalior war; slavery abolished (1843) |
| Lord Hardinge I | 1844–1848 | First Anglo-Sikh War, Treaty of Lahore (1846) |
| Lord Dalhousie | 1848–1856 | Second Anglo-Sikh War, annexation of Punjab (1849); Doctrine of Lapse (Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur…); annexation of Awadh (1856); first railway (Bombay–Thane, 16 April 1853); telegraph; Post Office Act 1854; Wood's Despatch (1854); Public Works Department |
| Lord Canning | 1856–1858 | Revolt of 1857; universities of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras (1857); Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act (1856) |
Viceroys (1858–1947)
| Name | Tenure | Key events |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Canning | 1858–1862 | First Viceroy; Queen's Proclamation (1858); Indian Councils Act 1861; Indian Penal Code (1860); Indian High Courts Act (1861); withdrawal of Doctrine of Lapse |
| Lord Elgin I | 1862–1863 | Died at Dharamshala; Wahabi movement suppressed |
| Sir John Lawrence | 1864–1869 | Policy of "masterly inactivity" on Afghanistan; Bhutan war; telegraph link with Europe (1865) |
| Lord Mayo | 1869–1872 | Financial decentralisation (1870); first census (1872) attempted; Rajkumar College (Rajkot) and Mayo College (Ajmer) for princes; assassinated in the Andamans (1872) |
| Lord Northbrook | 1872–1876 | Kuka movement; Prince of Wales's visit |
| Lord Lytton | 1876–1880 | Delhi Durbar (1877) — Queen Victoria made Kaisar-i-Hind; Vernacular Press Act (1878); Arms Act (1878); famine; Second Anglo-Afghan War |
| Lord Ripon | 1880–1884 | Repeal of Vernacular Press Act (1882); local self-government resolution (1882) — "father of local self-government"; first regular census (1881); Hunter Commission on education (1882); Ilbert Bill controversy (1883); Factory Act 1881 |
| Lord Dufferin | 1884–1888 | Indian National Congress founded (1885); Third Anglo-Burmese War, Burma annexed (1885–86) |
| Lord Lansdowne | 1888–1894 | Indian Councils Act 1892; Durand Line (1893) with Afghanistan; Factory Act 1891 |
| Lord Elgin II | 1894–1899 | Famine and plague; Chapekar brothers killed plague commissioner Rand (1897); Lyall Famine Commission |
| Lord Curzon | 1899–1905 | Partition of Bengal (16 October 1905); Indian Universities Act (1904); Ancient Monuments Preservation Act (1904) and revival of the ASI; Police Commission (Fraser); NWFP created (1901); Younghusband mission to Tibet (1903–04); Imperial Cadet Corps |
| Lord Minto II | 1905–1910 | Swadeshi movement; Muslim League (1906); Surat split (1907); Morley–Minto reforms (1909) with separate electorates |
| Lord Hardinge II | 1910–1916 | Delhi Durbar (1911), partition of Bengal annulled, capital shifted to Delhi (announced 1911); bomb attack on him (1912); Ghadar movement; Gandhi's return (1915) |
| Lord Chelmsford | 1916–1921 | Lucknow Pact (1916); Home Rule leagues; Champaran (1917); August Declaration (1917); Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh (1919); Montagu–Chelmsford reforms (GOI Act 1919); Non-Cooperation begins; Khilafat |
| Lord Reading | 1921–1926 | Chauri Chaura (1922); Swaraj Party (1923); Kakori (1925); Moplah rebellion (1921); Rowlatt Act repealed (1922) |
| Lord Irwin | 1926–1931 | Simon Commission (1927–28); Nehru Report (1928); Lahore session, Purna Swaraj (1929); Dandi March (1930); First Round Table Conference; Gandhi–Irwin Pact (1931) |
| Lord Willingdon | 1931–1936 | Second and Third Round Table Conferences; Communal Award (1932); Poona Pact (1932); Government of India Act 1935 |
| Lord Linlithgow | 1936–1944 | Provincial elections (1937); Second World War; August Offer (1940); Cripps Mission (1942); Quit India (1942); Bengal famine (1943) — longest-serving Viceroy |
| Lord Wavell | 1944–1947 | Simla Conference (1945); INA trials; RIN mutiny (1946); Cabinet Mission (1946); Interim Government; Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) |
| Lord Mountbatten | 1947 (Viceroy) and 1947–1948 (Governor-General) | 3 June Plan; Indian Independence Act; Independence and Partition, 15 August 1947; first Governor-General of independent India |
C. Rajagopalachari succeeded Mountbatten as the first and only Indian Governor-General (June 1948–January 1950).
Memory tips
- "Firsts": Warren Hastings (first GG of Bengal), William Bentinck (first GG of India), Canning (first Viceroy), Mountbatten (last Viceroy), Rajagopalachari (last Governor-General).
- Land settlements: Permanent (Cornwallis, 1793); Ryotwari (Munro, 1820, under Lord Hastings); Mahalwari (Holt Mackenzie, 1822; under Bentinck revised 1833).
- Press: Metcalfe freed it (1835); Lytton gagged vernacular papers (1878); Ripon repealed that (1882).
- Bengal: Curzon partitioned (1905); Hardinge II reunited (1911).
Practice questions
Q1. Who was the first Governor-General of India under the Charter Act of 1833?
- (a) Warren Hastings
- (b) Lord Cornwallis
- (c) Lord William Bentinck
- (d) Lord Canning
Show answer
Answer: (c) Lord William Bentinck — Bentinck became the first Governor-General of India.
Q2. The Permanent Settlement of Bengal was introduced by:
- (a) Warren Hastings
- (b) Lord Cornwallis
- (c) Lord Wellesley
- (d) Sir John Shore
Show answer
Answer: (b) Lord Cornwallis — Lord Cornwallis introduced it in 1793.
Q3. The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was passed during the tenure of:
- (a) Lord Ripon
- (b) Lord Lytton
- (c) Lord Mayo
- (d) Lord Dufferin
Show answer
Answer: (b) Lord Lytton — Lord Lytton passed it; Ripon repealed it in 1882.
Q4. Which Viceroy is called the father of local self-government in India?
- (a) Lord Mayo
- (b) Lord Ripon
- (c) Lord Curzon
- (d) Lord Dufferin
Show answer
Answer: (b) Lord Ripon — Ripon's 1882 resolution laid the foundation of local self-government.
Q5. The Indian National Congress was founded during the viceroyalty of:
- (a) Lord Lytton
- (b) Lord Ripon
- (c) Lord Dufferin
- (d) Lord Lansdowne
Show answer
Answer: (c) Lord Dufferin — It was founded in December 1885 under Lord Dufferin.
Q6. Who was Viceroy at the time of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?
- (a) Lord Hardinge II
- (b) Lord Chelmsford
- (c) Lord Reading
- (d) Lord Irwin
Show answer
Answer: (b) Lord Chelmsford — Lord Chelmsford was Viceroy from 1916 to 1921.
Frequently asked questions
Who was the first Viceroy of India?
Lord Canning, from 1858, after the Government of India Act transferred power to the Crown.
Who was the longest-serving Viceroy?
Lord Linlithgow (1936–1944).
Who was the only Indian Governor-General?
C. Rajagopalachari, from June 1948 to January 1950.
Official sources
- National Archives of India (Abhilekh Patal)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — British raj
- Rashtrapati Bhavan — history
Rules, dates and figures can change. Always check the latest official notification or government release before relying on a detail.