The Regulating Act 1773 created the office with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William, or Governor-General of Bengal to be appointed by the Court of Directors of the East India Company (EIC). The Court of Directors assigned a Council of Four (based in India) to assist the Governor-General, and the decision of the council was binding on the Governor-General from 1773 to 1784.
The Charter Act 1833 re-designated the office with the title of Governor-General of India. William Bentinck was the first to be designated as the Governor-general of India in 1833.
After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the company rule in India was brought to an end, but the British India along with princely states came under the direct rule of the British Crown. The Government of India Act 1858 created the office of Secretary of State for India in 1858 to oversee the affairs of India, which was advised by a new Council of India with 15 members (based in London). The existing Council of Four was formally renamed as the Council of Governor-General of India or Executive Council of India. The Council of India was later abolished by Government of India Act 1935.
Following the adoption of the Government of India Act 1858, the Governor-General representing the Crown became known as the Viceroy. The designation 'Viceroy', although it was most frequently used in ordinary parlance, had no statutory authority, and was never employed by Parliament. Although the Proclamation of 1858 announcing the assumption of the government of India by the Crown referred to Lord Canning as "first Viceroy and Governor-General", none of the Warrants appointing his successors referred to them as 'Viceroys', and the title, which was frequently used in Warrants dealing with precedence and in public notifications, was one of ceremonies used in connection with the state and social functions of the Sovereign's representative. The Governor-General continued to be the sole representative of the Crown, and the Government of India continued to be vested in the appointments of Governor-General of India which were made by the British Crown upon the advice of Secretary of State for India. The office of Governor-General continued to exist as a ceremonial post in each of the new dominions of India and Pakistan, until they adopted republican constitutions in 1950 and 1956 respectively.
List of governors-general
Fort William (Bengal) and India, 1773–1857 No. Governor-General Term of office Notable events Appointed by Governors-General of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), 1773–1833 1 Warren Hastings 1773Originally joined on 28 April 1772. 1785 Regulating Act 1773 First Rohilla War (1773–1774) Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William (1774) was established Formation of Supreme Council of Bengal (1774) First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) Formed Amini Commission (1776) Founded Calcutta Madrasa (Aliah University) (1780) James Augustus Hicky's Bengal Gazette (first Indian newspaper published (1780) Second Anglo-Mysore war (1780–1784) Asiatic Society of Bengal was established by Sir William Jones (1784) Pitt's India Act (1784) Creation of collector post The first Governor General to be prosecuted for impeachment. As a consequence of his involvement in First Rohilla War Experimentation on land settlements Ended providing pension to the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II Abolished the Dual System in Bengal (which was introduced by Robert Clive) Moved Treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta Abolished Dastak system (which was introduced by Robert Clive) English translation of the Bhagwat Gita by Charles Wilkins George III — Sir John Macpherson, 1st Baronet 1785 1786 2 Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Earl CornwallisEarl Cornwallis from 1762; created Marquess Cornwallis (1792). 1786 1793 Established lower courts and appellate courts Third Anglo-Mysore war (1790–1792) Sanskrit Vidyalaya at Benaras (now Varanasi) established by Johnathan Duncan (then Governor of Bombay) (1791) Permanent Settlement in Bihar and Bengal (1793) Introduction of Cornwallis Code (1793) Introduction of Civil Services in India 3 Sir John Shore, Bt. 1793 1798 Policy of Non-intervention Charter Act 1793 Second Rohilla War 1794 Battle of Kharda between Nizam and Marathas (1795) — Lt. Gen Alured Clarke 1798 1798 4 Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess WellesleyCreated Marquess Wellesley (1799). 1798 1805 Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance (1798) Fourth Anglo Mysore War 1799 Censorship Act, 1799 Took over the administration of Tanjore (1799), Surat (1800) and Carnatica (1801) Fort William College at Calcutta (1800) The Subsidiary Treaty of Bassein (1802) and Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) Raj Bhavan at Calcutta was established (1803) 5 Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis 1805 1805 — Sir George Barlow, 1st Baronet 1805 1807 Sepoy mutiny at Vellore (1806) (prelude to the Indian Rebellion of 1857) Bank of Calcutta (1806) established (later Imperial Bank of India, now State Bank of India) 6 Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto 1807 1813 Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Ranjit Singh Treaty of Eternal Friendship (1809) with Talpur Rulers of Sindh Charter Act 1813 7 Francis Rawdon-HastingsEarl of Moira prior to being created Marquess of Hastings in 1816. 1813 1823 Ended the policy of Non-intervention Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–1816) ended with the signing of Treaty of Sugauli (1816) Third Anglo-Maratha War (1816–1818) and the abolition of Peshwaship Hindu College (now Presidency University) at Calcutta (1817) The Pindari War (1817–1818) (the complete destruction of the Pindaris) Subversion of Peshwa Baji Rao II and annexation of his territories to the Bombay Presidency (1818) Establishment of Ryotwari System in Madras Presidency (1820) by the governor Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet Establishment of Mahalwari System in Northern India by Holt Mackenzie (1822) Bengal Tenancy Act was passed (1822) General Committee of Public Instruction was formed (1823) — John Adam 1823 1823 Licensing Regulations George IV 8 William Amherst, 1st Earl AmherstCreated Earl Amherst in 1826. 1823 1828 Barrackpore mutiny of 1824 Establishment of Sanskrit College at Calcutta (1824) First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) (East India Company defeats Burmese King Bagyidaw and annexes Assam, Manipur, Arakan and Tenasserim) Treaty of Yandabo, 1826 (East India Company humiliates and extracts 1 million Pounds from the Burmese King Bagyidaw) — William Butterworth Bayley 1828 1828 Governors-General of India, 1833–1858 1 Lord William Bentinck 1828 1835 First Governor General of India Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829 Suppression of Thuggee (1829–1835) Kol Rebellion (1831) Barasat Uprising (1831), led by Titumir Annexation of Mysore (1831), Coorg (1834), and central Cachar (1834) Charter Act 1833 (administrative reforms as well as formalising the non-discrimination in employment of Indians by religion) English Education Act 1835 and introduction of English as a medium of instruction. English was also introduced by the Bengal government in the Calcutta Madrasa in 1829 Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata (1835) Abolition of the provincial courts of appeal and circuit set by Cornwallis, appointment of commissioners of revenue and circuit Mahalwari System in Central India, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh Brahmo samaj established by Ram Mohan Roy William IV — Charles Metcalfe, Baronet 1835 1836 Repealed 1823 Licensing Regulations Known as Liberator of India Press Establishment of Calcutta Public Library (1836) (currently known as National Library of India) 2 George Eden, 1st Earl of AucklandCreated Earl of Auckland in 1839. 1836 1842 Tripartite Treaty (1838) between British, Shah Shuja and Maharaja Ranjit Singh against Dost Muhammad Khan First Bengali daily newspaper Sambad Prabhakar was published (1839) Tattwabodhini Sabha was formed by Debendranath Tagore (1839) First Anglo Afghan War (1840–1842) (Retreating British Army massacred by Afghan militias during the 1842 retreat from Kabul) Bank of Bombay (1840) established (later Imperial Bank of India, now State Bank of India) 3 Edward Law, 2nd Baron Ellenborough 1842 1844 Gwalior War (1843) (British defeat Marathas) Bank of Madras (1843) established (later Imperial Bank of India, now State Bank of India) Conquest and annexation of Sind Province (1843) Indian Slavery Act, 1843 Victoria — William Wilberforce Bird 1844 1844 4 Henry HardingeCreated Viscount Hardinge in 1846. 1844 1848 The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846) (British Empire defeats the Sikh Empire and confiscate major portion of its territory) Treaty of Lahore (1846) (British confiscated Kashmir from the Sikhs and sold it to Raja of Jammu for 75 lakh rupees) Treaty of Bhairowal (1846) Establishment of Roorkee Engineering College (1847) 5 James Broun-Ramsay, 10th Earl of DalhousieCreated Marquess of Dalhousie 1849. 1848 1856 Doctrine of Lapse (1848) Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–1849) (The British totally defeated the Sikh Empire and annexed Punjab) Bethune Collegiate School (1849) (was also known as Calcutta Female School) was established by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune Religious Disabilities Act, 1850 First telegraph line was laid between Diamond Harbour to Calcutta (1851) Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852) (The sole aim of Dalhousie was to humiliate and annex more of Burmese Territories. Burma was attacked unprovoked) Charter Act, 1853 First Passenger train between Bombay and Thane (1853) Charles Wood Despatch (1854) Post Office Act, 1854 Established Public Works Department (1854) Santhal Rebellion (1855) (15,000 Santhals were killed by the British Army during the rebellion. Elephants were used to destroy Santhal Dwellings) Annexation of Oudh on the grounds of alleged internal misrule (1856) Establishment of summer capital at Shimla Banned female infanticide completely and human sacrifice in Odisha and Maharashtra 6 Charles Canning, 2nd Viscount CanningCreated Earl Canning 1859. 1856 1858 Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 (drafted by James Broun-Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie) Indian Rebellion of 1857 University of Calcutta, University of Bombay, and University of Madras were set up (1857)
Governors-General and Viceroys of India, 1858–1947 No. Governor-General or Viceroy Term of office Notable events Secretary of State for India Prime Minister Governors-General and Viceroys of India, 1858–1947 1 Charles Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning 1858 1862 Queen Victoria's Proclamation (1 November 1858) and The Government of India Act, 1858 Formation of Imperial Civil Services (1858) Indigo Revolt in Bengal (1859–1860) White mutiny by the European troops (1859) Enactment of Indian Penal Code (1860) Indian High Courts Act 1861 Indian Councils Act, 1861 Indian Civil Service Act, 1861 Police Act, 1861 Establishment of Archaeological Survey of India (1861) System of Budget was introduced Introduced Portfolio System which gave foundation for Cabinet System Lord Stanley Charles Wood Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby Viscount Palmerston 2 James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin 1862 1863 Establishment of Calcutta High Court (), Bombay High Court () and Madras High Court () (1862) Opened up Qing China and Japan to Western trade Compelled the Qing to sign the Convention of Peking, annexing the Kowloon Peninsula to the British crown colony of Hong Kong Charles Wood Viscount Palmerston — Robert Napier 1863 1863 — William Denison 1863 1864 3 Sir John Lawrence, 1st Baronet 1864 1869 Bhutan War (1864–1865) (The British defeated an undefended Bhutan and annexed Assam and Bengal Duars) Establishment of Shimla as India's summer capital (1864) Establishment of Allahabad High Court (1866) Famine Commission was constituted (1867) under Henry Campbell due to Orissa famine of 1866 Tenancy Act was passed in Punjab and Oudh (1868) Charles Wood George Robinson, Earl de Grey Viscount Cranborne Stafford Northcote