Presidency College, Chennai

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Presidency College is in Chennai, India and is considered to be the precursor of the University of Madras. It was founded in 1840 by Thiru Eyre Burton Powell. When the University of Madras was founded in 1857, Presidency College got affiliated to it. The college moved to its present location in Kamaraj Salai in 1870. It is just opposite to one of the famous landmark Marina, which is the second longest beach in the world.

It was ranked the no. 1 science college in India in 2001 and no. 1 arts college in India in 2002 by India Today. This college also serves the society by educating the economically poor and socially under-privileged communities with an affordable fee structure. The Origin and Growth

It had taken, decades for the College to take shape. At the behest of Sir Thomas Munro a Committee of public instruction was formed in 1826. In 1836 the duties of the Committee of public instruction was taken over by "The Committee of Native Education." The plan drawn up by the Committee did not commend themselves to Lord Elphinstone who in turn proposed nineteen resolutions which were passed unanimously. The gist of the resolutions was as follows:

The First Principal The choice of Thiru. Mount Stuart Elphinstone fell on Mr. Eyre Burton Powell, a Cambridge Wrangler in Mathematics, who accepted the post. Mr. Powell reached Mumbai on the 20th Sept. 1840 and could reach Chennai only on 24th November 1840, the journey from Mumbai to Chennai occupying about four weeks. In the meantime, the University Board had invited Mr. Cooper, from the Hoogly College, Calcutta to carry on the duties of the Headmaster temporarily, on a salary of Rs. 400/a month.

The Emergence of Presidency College

The Preparatory School Thiru. Cooper accepted the invitation and came to Chennai. He and his Staff opened the preparatory School in a rented building in Egmore known as Edinburgh Home on 15th October 1840 which eventually grew into Presidency College. Thiru. Cooper remained in the Preparatory School for only a few months and soon after Thiru. Powell's arrival and before the opening of the High School department in April 1841, he returned to Calcutta. The preparatory School was shifted to Popham's Broadway in 1841.

[edit] Alumni

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman - Nobel laureate
Dr. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar - Nobel laureate
Srinivasa Varadhan - Abel Prize laureate
C.Subramaniam - Freedom fighter,Former union Agriculture minister (Father of Green revolution)
P.Chidambaram - Union Finance Minister
Narasimhan Ram - The Hindu Chief editor
Uma Sambanthan - social activist and wife of V. T. Sambanthan, one of the founding fathers of modern day Malaysia
Dr. Sarvepalli Gopal - Eminent Historian