Governor Generals and Viceroys of India

Introduction

After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the British emerged as the supreme power in Bengal and started consolidating the administrative power in Bengal. Initially the company was allowed to function independently but due to mismanagement and malpractices of the officials of the company, regulating acts were passed to regulate the affairs of the company and a new post Governor-General of Bengal was created.

Governors-General of Bengal (1773–1833)

Name	Tenure	Major Actions / Events
Warren Hastings	1773–1785	– First Governor-General under Regulating Act 1773 – Reforms in revenue, judiciary & administration – 1st Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82), 2nd Anglo-Mysore War (1780–84) – Pitt’s India Act (1784) – Impeachment (later acquitted)
Lord Cornwallis	1786–1793	– Permanent Settlement in Bengal (1793) – Reforms in civil services, police, and judiciary – 3rd Anglo-Mysore War, Treaty of Seringapatam (1792)
Sir John Shore	1793–1798	– Policy of non-intervention – Battle of Kharda (1795) between Nizam and Marathas
Lord Wellesley	1798–1805	– Introduced Subsidiary Alliance – 4th Anglo-Mysore War (1799) – death of Tipu Sultan – 2nd Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05) – Fort William College (1800)
Lord Cornwallis (2nd term)	1805	– Died shortly after arrival in India
Sir George Barlow	1805–1807	– Abolished Wellesley’s aggressive policies – Mutiny of Vellore (1806)
Lord Minto I	1807–1813	– Charter Act of 1813 (ended Company’s trade monopoly) – Initiated diplomatic missions to Afghanistan and Persia
Lord Hastings	1813–1823	– Ended policy of non-intervention – 3rd Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18), dissolution of Maratha Confederacy – Pindari War – Establishment of Ryotwari system in Madras
Lord Amherst	1823–1828	– 1st Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), Treaty of Yandabo – Capture of Assam
Lord William Bentinck	1828–1835	– Abolition of Sati (1829) – Suppression of Thuggee – English made medium of instruction (Macaulay’s Minute, 1835) – Civil service reforms

Governors-General of India (1833–1858)

The designation was changed from the Governor-General of Bengal to the Governor-General of India by the Charter Act of 1833.

Name	Tenure	Major Actions / Events
Lord William Bentinck	1833–1835	– First Governor-General of India – Continued social reforms
Sir Charles Metcalfe	1835–1836	– Liberator of the press (freedom of press act, 1835)
Lord Auckland	1836–1842	– 1st Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42), disastrous British retreat
Lord Ellenborough	1842–1844	– Ended Afghan War – Annexation of Sindh (1843)
Lord Hardinge I	1844–1848	– 1st Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46), Treaty of Lahore
Lord Dalhousie	1848–1856	– Doctrine of Lapse (Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur annexed) – 2nd Anglo-Sikh War (Annexation of Punjab) – Railway and postal reforms – Telegraph, Public Works Dept – Widow Remarriage Act (1856)

Viceroys of India (1858–1947)

After the Revolt of 1857, Government of India Act 1858 transferred control from East India Company to British Crown. The post of Governor-General of India was replaced by a new post, Viceroy of India.

Name	Tenure	Major Actions / Events
Lord Canning	1856–1862	– Last Governor-General & first Viceroy – Revolt of 1857 – Government of India Act 1858 – Introduction of Indian Penal Code (1860) – Universities in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras (1857)
Lord Elgin I	1862–1863	– Passed away during service
Sir John Lawrence	1864–1869	– Policy of non-interference in Afghanistan – Organised famine relief
Lord Mayo	1869–1872	– Financial decentralisation – Mayo College for princes – Assassinated in Andaman Islands
Lord Northbrook	1872–1876	– Attempted to reduce salt tax – Visit of Prince of Wales
Lord Lytton	1876–1880	– 2nd Anglo-Afghan War – Vernacular Press Act (1878) – Famine of 1876–78 – Delhi Durbar (1877): Queen Victoria as Empress of India
Lord Ripon	1880–1884	– Repeal of Vernacular Press Act – First Factory Act (1881) – Ilbert Bill Controversy – Local Self-Government introduced
Lord Dufferin	1884–1888	– 3rd Anglo-Burmese War (1885) – Formation of INC in 1885
Lord Lansdowne	1888–1894	– Indian Councils Act (1892) – Durand Line (1893)
Lord Elgin II	1894–1899	– Plague outbreaks – Extremist-nationalist rise
Lord Curzon	1899–1905	– Partition of Bengal (1905) – Indian Universities Act (1904) – Establishment of Archaeological Survey of India
Lord Minto II	1905–1910	– Minto-Morley Reforms (Indian Councils Act, 1909)
Lord Hardinge II	1910–1916	– Capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi (1911) – Delhi Durbar (1911) – Bomb attack (1912)
Lord Chelmsford	1916–1921	– Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Govt of India Act, 1919) – Rowlatt Act (1919) – Jallianwala Bagh Massacre – Non-Cooperation Movement (1920)
Lord Reading	1921–1926	– Chauri Chaura incident – Suspension of Non-Cooperation Movement
Lord Irwin	1926–1931	– Simon Commission – Nehru Report (1928) – Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) – Civil Disobedience Movement begins
Lord Willingdon	1931–1936	– Second Round Table Conference – Govt of India Act 1935 – Civil Disobedience Movement restarted
Lord Linlithgow	1936–1943	– Longest-serving Viceroy – WWII begins (India dragged into war) – August Offer (1940), Quit India Movement (1942)
Lord Wavell	1943–1947	– Wavell Plan, Simla Conference (1945) – Cabinet Mission (1946)
Lord Mountbatten	Mar–Aug 1947	– Last Viceroy of India – Mountbatten Plan (Partition Plan) – India gains independence on 15 August 1947

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