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List of Governor Generals of India

Published on Friday, May 17, 2019
Governor General Period About
Warren Hastings 1773-1785
  • The Dual system of government was abolished by Warren Hastings and Bengal was brought under the direct control of the British in 1772
  • Warren Hastings inaugurated the annual lease system of auctioning
  • Under the governorship of William Hastings Calcutta became capital in 1772
  • He reorganized the judicial system as follows
  • Established highest civil court of appeal- Sadar Diwani Adalat
  • Highest appellate criminal court- Sadr Nizamat Adalat.
John Macpherson 1785-1786
  • He held the post temporarily.
Charles Cornwallis
The Marquess Cornwallis
1786- 1793
  • Introduced revenue system is known as Permanent Settlement 
  • Major reform was the separation of the three branches of service, namely commercial, judicial and revenue 
  • He inaugurated the policy of making appointments mainly on the basis of merit thereby laying the foundation of the Indian Civil Service
John Shore 1793 - 1798
  • Followed policy of non-intervention. 
  • Introduced Charter Act of 1793.
Alured Clarke
(acting)
18 March
1798 - 18 May
1798
  • He was briefly Governor-General of India1798.
  • Commander-in-chief of the Bengal Army Commander-in-chief of the British forces in all of India 1798 to 1801.
Richard Wellesley, Earl of Mornington 1798 - 1805
  • Adopted the policy of Subsidiary Alliance- a system to keep the Indian rulers under control and to make British the supreme power. He established College to train the Company’s servants in Calcutta. So, called as the father of Civil Services in India. 
  • He founded the Fort William College at Calcutta.
The Marquess Cornwallis 30 July
1805 - 5 October
1805
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Sir George Barlow, Bt
(acting)
1805 - 1807
  • An important event which took place in his time was Mutiny of Vellore in 1806 in which the Indian soldiers killed many English officials.
The Lord Minto 1807 - 1813
  • He concluded the Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Francis Rawdon-Hastings, The Earl of Moira 1813 - 1823
  • He finished the policy of non-intervention, which was followed by Sir John Shore. He abolished the censorship of the press. Introduced Ryotwari and Mahalawari system in Bombay.
John Adam
(acting)
9 January
1823 - 1 August
1823
  • Licensing Regulations 
  • Calcutta Unitarian Committee inaugurated byThe Great Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
The Lord Amherst 1823 - 1828
  • His term of office was known for First Anglo Burmese War (1824-26) and Mutiny of Barrackpur (1824)
William Butterworth Bayley
(acting)
13 March
1828 - 4 July
1828
  • He was a member of the Bengal Civil Service (1799–1830) and a director and chairman of the British East India Company.
Lord William Bentinck 1828 - 1835
  • He accomplished social reforms such as the abolition of Sati Pratha with the help of Rajaram Mohan Roy.
  • Established first Medical College in Calcutta.  
  • He also suppressed female infanticide and child sacrifice.
  • He made English as the language of higher education.
Charles Metcalfe, Bt
(acting)
1835 - 1836
  • He held the post temporarily and removed the restriction on Vernacular press.
The Lord Auckland 1836 - 1842
  • First Afghan War was fought in his reign
The Lord Ellenborough 1842 - 1844
  • In his term of office, Gwalior War (1843)happened. and British Crush Marathas once and for all.
  • Bank of Madras(1843) established (later imperial Bank of India, now State Bank of India).
William Wilberforce Bird
(acting)
June 1844 - 23 July
1844
  • He was a British colonial administrator who served as Deputy-Governor of Bengal Presidency.
Henry Hardinge 1844 - 1848
  • The First Anglo-Sikh War 1845–46 happened and British Empire crushes the Sikh Empire and confiscates a major portion of its territory.
  • Treaty of Lahore(1846)(British confiscate Kashmir from the Sikhs and sell it Toraja of Jammufor 75 lakh rupees) 
  • Establishment of Roorkee Engineering College(1847).
The Earl of Dalhousie 1848 - 1856
  • Lord Dalhousie was the youngest Governor-General of India.
  • At the end of the second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, Punjab was Associated by Dalhousie. 
  •  He introduced the concept of the Doctrine of Lapse. The Doctrine of Lapse was put in by Dalhousie to Satara and it was annexed in 1848. Jhansi and Nagpur were annexed in 1854.  
  • Bentinck was successful in winning the friendship of Ranjit Singh and the Indus Navigation Treaty was concluded between them. This treaty opened up the Sutlej for navigation.  
  • During his reign, The first railway line connecting Bombay with Thane was opened in 1853. 
  • The foundation of the modern postal system was laid down by Lord Dalhousie. 
  • Dalhousie established a separate Public Works Department and allotted more funds for cutting canals and roads. He introduced the process of modernization of India. Hence, he is hailed as “the maker of modern India”.
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