This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
English Agents
In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized between the factors of the Masulipatnam (now Machilipatnam) factory (trading post), represented by Francis Day, and the Raja of Chandragiri. In 1640, Andrew Cogan, the chief of the Masulipatnam factory, made his way to Madras in the company of Francis Day and the English and Indian employees of the Masulipatnam factory. The Agency of Madras was established on 1 March 1640 and Cogan was made the first Agent. The official title was 'Governor of Fort St George' and the Governor was usually referred to as Agent. Cogan served in the post for three years and was succeeded by Francis Day. After four agents had served their terms, Madras was upgraded to a Presidency during the time of Aaron Baker. However financial considerations forced the company to revert to an agency soon after Aaron Baker had served his term. The Agency survived until 1684 when Madras was made a Presidency once and for all. Streynsham Master is the best remembered and most renowned of the Agents of Madras.
# Name(birth–death) Took office Left office Notes Agents 1 Andrew Cogan 1 March 1640 1643Construction of Fort St. George begins 2 Francis Day(1605–1673) 1643 1644 3 Thomas Ivie(1605–1673) 1644 1648Establishment of Government General Hospital 4 Thomas Greenhill(1611–1658) 1648 1652 5 Aaron Baker(1610–1683) 1652 1655 6 Thomas Greenhill(1611–1658) 1655 1658 7 Sir Thomas Chambers(d. 1692) 1658 1661 8 Sir Edward Winter(1622–1686) 1661 Aug 1665 9 George Foxcroft(1634–1715) Aug 1665 16 Sep 1665 10 Sir Edward Winter(1622–1686) 16 Sep 1665 22 Aug 1668 11 George Foxcroft(1634–1715) 22 Aug 1668 Jan 1670Triplicane annexed by Madras 12 Sir William Langhorne, 1st Baronet(1631–1715) Jan 1670 27 Jan 1678 13 Streynsham Master(1640–1724) 27 Jan 1678 3 Jul 1681Construction of St. Mary's Church and Kalikambal Temple 14 William Gyfford 3 Jul 1681 8 Aug 1684
Presidents Madras was elevated to a presidency in 1684 and remained so until 12 February 1785 when new rules and regulations brought by the Pitt's India Act reformed the administration of the East India Company with the exception of a three-year period of French rule from 1746 to 1749 when Madras was a governorship.
Subsequently, Elihu Yale who took charge on 8 August 1684 was the First President of Madras. Elihu Yale, Thomas Pitt and George Macartney are some of the well-known Presidents of Madras.
Name Took office Left office Elihu Yale (First term) (acting) 8 August 1684 26 January 1685 William Gyfford 26 January 1685 25 July 1687 Elihu Yale (Second term) 25 July 1687 3 October 1692 Nathaniel Higginson 3 October 1692 7 July 1698 Thomas Pitt 7 July 1698 18 September 1709 Gulston Addison 18 September 1709 17 October 1709 Edmund Montague (acting) 17 October 1709 14 November 1709 William Fraser 14 November 1709 (acting) 11 July 1711 Edward Harrison 11 July 1711 8 January 1717 Joseph Collett 8 January 1717 18 January 1720 Francis Hastings (acting) 18 January 1720 15 October 1721 Nathaniel Elwick 15 October 1721 15 January 1725 James Macrae 15 January 1725 14 May 1730 George Morton Pitt 14 May 1730 23 January 1735 Richard Benyon (governor) 23 January 1735 14 January 1744 Nicholas Morse 14 January 1744 10 September 1746
Governors of the French East India Company In 1746, Joseph François Dupleix's deputy, Mahé de La Bourdonnais laid siege to Madras and captured the city. For the next three years, Madras remained under French governors, until 1749, when Madras was handed to the British as per the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). The illustrious de la Bordannais served as acting governor for a few months until the appointment of Governor Jean-Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil, who served until 1749 when Madras reverted to British rule.
Name Took office Left office Mahé de La Bourdonnais (acting) 10 September 1746 2 October 1746 Jean-Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil 2 October 1746 August 1749
Presidents of the British East India Company During the period between 1746 and 1749, when Madras was under French rule, the British ran a provisional government from Fort St. David, near modern-day Porto Novo. In 1752, when Madras had been returned to the British, the then President of Madras, John Saunders, shifted the seat of government from Fort St. David to Madras. The British gained a lot of territory during the mid-18th century, so that by the time the French military power was crushed at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1761, the territory under the Presidency of Madras had increased manyfold. In 1785, the Province of Madras was created and the President became the Governor of Madras.
Name Took office Left office John Hinde (in Fort St. David) 10 September 1746 14 April 1747 Charles Floyer (in Fort St. David) 14 April 1747 19 September 1750 Thomas Saunders (in Fort St. David up to 5 April 1752) 19 September 1750 14 January 1755 George Pigot (1st time) 14 January 1755 14 November 1763 Robert Palk 14 November 1763 25 January 1767 Charles Bourchier 25 January 1767 31 January 1770 Josias Du Pré 31 January 1770 2 February 1773 Alexander Wynch 2 February 1773 11 December 1775 George Pigot (2nd time) 11 December 1775 23 August 1776 George Stratton 23 August 1776 31 August 1777 John Whitehill (first time) (acting) 31 August 1777 8 February 1778 Sir Thomas Rumbold 8 February 1778 6 April 1780 John Whitehill (second time) (acting) 6 April 1780 8 November 1780 Charles Smith (acting) 8 November 1780 22 June 1781 George Macartney 22 June 1781 12 February 1785
Governors (of British India) Name Took office Left office George Macartney 12 February 1785 14 June 1785 Alexander Davidson (acting) 14 June 1785 6 April 1786 Sir Archibald Campbell 6 April 1786 7 February 1789 John Holland (acting) 7 February 1789 13 February 1790 Edward J.Holland (acting) 13 February 1790 20 February 1790 William Medows 20 February 1790 1 August 1792 Sir Charles Oakeley 1 August 1792 7 September 1794 Robert Hobart, Baron Hobart 7 September 1794 21 February 1798 George Harris (acting) 21 February 1798 21 August 1798 Edward Clive, 2nd Baron Clive 21 August 1798 30 August 1803 Lord William Bentinck 30 August 1803 11 September 1807 William Petrie (acting) 11 September 1807 24 February 1808 Sir George Barlow, 1st Baronet 24 February 1808 21 May 1813 John Abercromby (acting) 21 May 1813 16 September 1814 Hugh Elliot 16 September 1814 10 June 1820 Sir Thomas Munro 10 June 1820 10 July 1827 Henry Sullivan Graeme (acting) 10 July 1827 18 October 1827 Stephen Rumbold Lushington 18 October 1827 25 October 1832 Sir Frederick Adam 25 October 1832 4 March 1837 George Edward Russell (acting) 4 March 1837 6 March 1837 John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone 6 March 1837 24 September 1842 George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale 24 September 1842 23 February 1848 Henry Dickinson (acting) 23 February 1848 7 April 1848 Sir Henry Pottinger 7 April 1848 24 April 1854 Daniel Eliott (acting) 24 April 1854 28 April 1854 George Harris, 3rd Baron Harris 28 April 1854 28 March 1859 Sir Charles Trevelyan 28 March 1859 8 June 1860 William Ambrose Morehead (1st time) (acting) 8 June 1860 5 July 1860 Sir Henry George Ward 5 July 1860 2 August 1860 William Ambrose Morehead (2nd time) (acting) 4 August 1860 18 February 1861 Sir William Denison (1st time) 18 February 1861 26 November 1863 Edward Maltby (acting) 26 November 1863 18 January 1864 Sir William Denison (2nd time) 18 January 1864 27 March 1866 Francis Napier 27 March 1866 19 February 1872 Alexander John Arbuthnot (acting) 19 February 1872 15 May 1872 Vere Henry Hobart, Baron Hobart 15 May 1872 29 April 1875 William Rose Robinson (acting) 29 April 1875 23 November 1875 Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos 23 November 1875 20 December 1880 William Patrick Adam 20 December 1880 24 May 1881 William Huddleston (acting) 24 May 1881 5 November 1881 Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff 5 November 1881 8 December 1886 Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara 8 December 1886 1 December 1890 John Henry Garstin 1 December 1890 23 January 1891 Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock 23 January 1891 18 March 1896 Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock 18 March 1896 28 December 1900 Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill (1st time) 28 December 1900 30 April 1904 James Thompson (acting) 30 April 1904 13 December 1904 Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill (2nd time) 13 December 1904 15 February 1906 Sir Gabriel Stokes (acting) 15 February 1906 28 March 1906 Sir Arthur Lawley 28 March 1906 3 November 1911 Sir Thomas David Gibson-Carmichael 3 November 1911 30 March 1912 Sir Murray Hammick (acting) 30 March 1912 30 October 1912 John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland 30 October 1912 29 March 1919 Sir Alexander Cardew 29 March 1919 10 April 1919 Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Baron Willingdon 10 April 1919 12 April 1924 Sir Charles Todhunter (acting) 12 April 1924 14 April 1924 George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen 14 April 1924 29 June 1929 Sir Norman Majoribanks (acting) 29 June 1929 11 November 1929 Sir George Frederick Stanley (1st time) 11 November 1929 16 May 1934Sir Muhammad Usman Sahib Bahadur (acting) 16 May 1934 16 August 1934Sir George Frederick Stanley (2nd time) 16 August 1934 15 November 1934John Erskine, Lord Erskine (1st time) 15 November 1934 18 June 1936 Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu (acting) 18 June 1936 1 October 1936 John Erskine, Lord Erskine (2nd time) 1 October 1936 12 March 1940 Arthur Hope 12 March 1940 26 February 1946 Sir Henry Foley Knight (acting) 26 February 1946 5 May 1946 Sir Archibald Nye 5 May 1946 15 August 1947
References
External links