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GOVERNOR-GENERALS &
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Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India
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Current Affairs and General Knowledge/Awareness section is one of the most important and
high scoring sections of any competitive exam. Therefore, we regularly provide you with
Free Static GK E-book for your preparation. In this section, questions related to GovernorGenerals and Viceroys of India are frequently asked. Hence it becomes very important for all
the candidates to be aware about all the important Governor-Generals and Viceroys of
India.
In all the competitive exams, every mark counts and even 1 mark can be the difference
between success and failure. Therefore, to help you get these important marks we have
created a Free Static GK E-book on the List of Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India.
The comprehensive list of all the Important Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India is given
in a tabular format in the following pages of this Free Static GK E-book on GovernorGenerals and Viceroys of India.
Sample Questions Q. Which Viceroy reduced the Age for civil services exam from 21 to 19?
(a) Curzon
(b) Lytton
(c) Ripon
(d) Hardinge
Answer: Option B – Lytton
Q. The communal award was passed during the viceroy-ship of (a) Reading
(b) Irwin
(c) Willingdon
(d) Linlithgow
Answer: Option C – Willingdon
Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India
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List of Governor-Generals of Bengal
Name
Period
Warren Hastings 1772-1785
John
Macpherson
1785-1786
Charles
Cornwallis
1786-1793
John Shore
1793-1798
Richard
Wellesley
1798-1805
George Barlow
1805-1807
The Lord Minto I 1807-1813
Francis Rowdan1812-1823
Hastings
William Amherst 1823-1828
William Bentick
1828-1833
Work and Events
He established civil and judicial courts in each
district and gave the judicial powers to the
Zamindars. He also founded the Asiatic Society
of Bengal and the Calcutta Madrasa
He was appointed as an acting GovernorGeneral of India and held the post temporarily.
He introduced the Permanent settlement
system of Land Revenue in the Bengal province.
It was also known as the Zamindari System.
The Charter Act of 1793 was introduced by him.
He followed the non-intervention policy
towards the Indian rulers and their dominions.
The Policy of Subsidiary Alliance towards the
Indian Rulers was introduced by him. He
started the Fort William College of Calcutta to
train civil servants in India.
During his tenure, the Bank of Calcutta was
established which later became the Imperial
Bank of India (The Current SBI).
The Charter Act of 1813 was passed during his
tenure.
The Non-Intervention policy started by John
Shore, was ended by him. The Mahalwari and
Ryotwari system of Land revenue were
introduced in his tenure.
The First Anglo-Burmese war was fought during
his time which the British won and they
humiliated the Burmese King and forced him to
pay 1 million pounds.
He was the last Governor-General of Bengal. He
passed laws for social reforms like Sati
Abolition, Suppression of Thuggee etc.
Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India
Free static GK e-book
List of Governor-Generals of India
Name
Period
William Bentick
1833-1835
Charles
Metcalfe
1835-1836
George Eden
(Earl of
Auckland)
1836-1842
Edward Law
(Earl of
Ellenborough)
1842-1844
Henry Hardinge
1844-1848
Lord Dalhousie
1848-1856
Work and Events
He was the first Governor-General of India,
appointed as per the Charter Act of 1833. He
passed the English Education Act, 1835 and
made English the Language of Higher Education
in India.
He had held the post for only a short time and
in his short tenure he removed the restrictions
imposed on Vernacular Press.
The first Anglo-Afghan War, one of the biggest
disasters in British Military History was fought
under his rule. The bank of Bombay was
established in his tenure
The Bank of Madras which was later merged
into the Imperial Bank of India was established
during his tenure.
The first Anglo-Sikh war was fought during his
tenure. He also signed the treaty of Lahore
which took Kashmir away from the Sikhs and
sold it to the Raja of Jammu.
The First Railway line in India, between Thane
and Bombay was inaugurated by him in 1853.
Telegraph line was also started by him. He
followed the Doctrine of Lapse to annexe
Indian provinces. Woods Dispatch was passed.
Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India
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List of Viceroys of India
Name
Period
Charles
Canning
1856-1862
John Lawrence
1864-1869
Richard Bourke
1869-1872
(Earl of Mayo)
Thomas
Barring (Earl of
Northbrook)
1872-1876
Lord Lytton
1876-1880
Lord Rippon
1880-1884
Lord Dufferin
1884-1888
Work and Events
He was the last Governor-General and the first
Viceroy of India. The Change in title happened
as per the Government of India Act, 1858 after
the Indian War of Independence (1857). The
Universities of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta
were established by him.
The Calcutta, Madras and Bombay High courts
were established under his command in 1865.
He also started a direct Telegraph line to
Europe. HE Made Shimla as the Summer
Capital of India
In 1871, the First census was conducted in
India. He is credited with starting the Financial
Decentralization in India. He was murdered in
office(Only Viceroy to be killed while in Office)
in 1872
His administration took steps to reduce social
unrest by giving Famine Relief, tax reduction
etc.
He organised the Delhi Durbar of 1877 for
Queen Victoria. He reduced the age for
appearing in the civil services examination
from 21 to 19. The highly discriminatory
Vernacular Press Act, 1878 was passed by him.
He was one of the most Liberal Viceroys of
British Raj and genuinely took steps for the
betterment of Indians like, increasing the age
of Civil services exam back to 21, abolishing
the Lytton's Vernacular press act, passed
Factory Act to abolish Child Labour, Ilbirt bill
was passed which allowed Indian Judges to
preside over cases involving British people.
The formation of Indian National Congress
took place during his administration.
Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India
Name
Free static GK e-book
Period
Lord
Lansdowne
1888-1894
Victor Bruce
(Earl of Elgin)
1894 to
1899
George Curzon
1899-1905
Lord Minto
1905-1910
Charles
Hardinge
1910-1916
Lord
Chelmsford
1916-1921
Lord Reading
1921-1926
Lord Irwin
1926-1931
Lord
Willingdon
1931-1936
Work and Events
The Durand Commission was appointed by
him to decide the boundary line between
Indian and Afghanistan. Indian Council Act,
1892 and the 2nd Factory Act were the
important legislations passed during his time.
His administration overlooked the Famine
situation in India which caused death of
around 4.5 million people.
The Archaeological Survey of India was
established by him. He carried out the
partition of Bengal Province into East and
West Bengal in 1905.
He was instrumental in passing of the Indian
Councils Act, 1909 popularly known as the
'Morley-Minto Reforms' which increased
Indian Representation in Governance.
The third Delhi Durbar of 1911 was held
during his tenure. He shifted the capital of
India from Calcutta to Delhi.
During his tenure some major events of Indian
Independence movement took place like - The
Lucknow Pact, Home Rule movement, Rowlatt
Act, Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms,
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, etc.
The Non-Co-operation and Khilafat
Movements took place during his tenure.
He Signed the famous Gandhi-Irwin Pact to
end the Civil Disobedience movement. The
Simon Commission visited during his tenure.
One of the most important legislation in
Indian History - The Govt of India Act, 1935
was passed during his tenure. Other major
events of his time were the Poona Pact, 3rd
Round table conference and the Communal
Award.
Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India
Name
Free static GK e-book
Period
Lord Linlithgow 1936-1944
Lord Wavell
1944-1947
Lord
Mountbatten
March
1947- June
1948
C.
June 1948 Rajagopalachari Jan 1950
Work and Events
The provincial elections of 1937, Indian entry
into WW II, Day of deliverance, Quit India
Movement, Cripps mission etc made this one
of the most eventful tenure of a Viceroy.
The Cabinet Mission plan was launched by his
administration. During his time, the first
meeting of the constituent assembly was
convened.
The India Independent Act, 1947 during his
time. He overlooked the Independence,
Partition and Transfer of Power.
He was the head of state until the
Constitution of India was drafted and passed
by the Constituent Assembly.
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