List of Governors-General of India

The Governor-General of India was initially the head of the East India Company's administration in British India, then, in the days of the British Raj from 1858 to 1947, with the new title of Viceroy and Governor-General of India, the representative of the British Crown and the Secretary of State for India on the Indian subcontinent. This list shows all the Governors-General and Viceroys prior to the independence of India and Pakistan, the two Governors-General of the Union of India, and the four Governors-General of the Dominion of Pakistan.

The office was created in 1774, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William.

The title of Viceroy was abandoned when India and Pakistan gained their independence in 1947, but the office of Governor-General continued to exist in both new dominions until they adopted republican constitutions in 1950 and 1956 respectively.

Contents

List of Governors-General

Governors of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), 1774–1833

# Name Image Governor from Governor until
1 Warren Hastings 20 October 1774 1 February 1785
2 Sir John Macpherson
(acting)		 1 February 1785 12 September 1786
3 The Earl Cornwallis[1] 12 September 1786 28 October 1793
4 Sir John Shore 28 October 1793 18 March 1798
5 Sir Alured Clarke
(acting)		 18 March 1798 18 May 1798
6 The Earl of Mornington[2] 18 May 1798 30 July 1805
7 The Marquess Cornwallis 30 July 1805 5 October 1805
8 Sir George Barlow, Bt
(acting)		 10 October 1805 31 July 1807
9 The Lord Minto 31 July 1807 4 October 1813
10 The Earl of Moira[3] 4 October 1813 9 January 1823
11 John Adam
(acting)		 9 January 1823 1 August 1823
12 The Lord Amherst[4] 1 August 1823 13 March 1828
13 William Butterworth Bayley
(acting)		 13 March 1828 4 July 1828
14 Lord William Bentinck 4 July 1828 1833

Governors-General of India, 1833–1858

# Name Image Governor from Governor until
14 Lord William Bentinck 1833 20 March 1835
15 Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bt
(acting)		 20 March 1835 4 March 1836
16 The Lord Auckland[5] 4 March 1836 28 February 1842
17 The Lord Ellenborough 28 February 1842 June 1844
18 William Wilberforce Bird
(acting)		 June 1844 23 July 1844
19 Sir Henry Hardinge[6] 23 July 1844 12 January 1848
20 The Earl of Dalhousie[7] 12 January 1848 28 February 1856
21 The Viscount Canning 28 February 1856 1 November 1858

Governors-General and Viceroys of India, 1858–1947

# Name Image Governor from Governor until
22 The Viscount Canning[8] 1 November 1858 21 March 1862
23 The Earl of Elgin 21 March 1862 20 November 1863
24 Sir Robert Napier
(acting)		 21 November 1863 2 December 1863
25 Sir William Denison
(acting)		 2 December 1863 12 January 1864
26 Sir John Lawrence, Bt 12 January 1864 12 January 1869
27 The Earl of Mayo 12 January 1869 8 February 1872
28 Sir John Strachey
(acting)		 9 February 1872 23 February 1872
29 The Lord Napier
(acting)		 24 February 1872 3 May 1872
30 The Lord Northbrook 3 May 1872 12 April 1876
31 The Lord Lytton 12 April 1876 8 June 1880
32 The Marquess of Ripon 8 June 1880 13 December 1884
33 The Earl of Dufferin 13 December 1884 10 December 1888
34 The Marquess of Lansdowne 10 December 1888 11 October 1894
35 The Earl of Elgin 11 October 1894 6 January 1899
36 The Lord Curzon of Kedleston[9] 6 January 1899 18 November 1905
37 The Earl of Minto 18 November 1905 23 November 1910
38 The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst 23 November 1910 4 April 1916
39 The Lord Chelmsford 4 April 1916 2 April 1921
40 The Earl of Reading 2 April 1921 3 April 1926
41 The Lord Irwin 3 April 1926 18 April 1931
42 The Earl of Willingdon 18 April 1931 18 April 1936
43 The Marquess of Linlithgow 18 April 1936 1 October 1943
44 The Viscount Wavell 1 October 1943 21 February 1947
45 The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma 21 February 1947 15 August 1947

Governors-General of the Union of India, 1947–1950

# Name Image Governor from Governor until
1 The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma[10] 15 August 1947 21 June 1948
2 C. Rajagopalachari 21 June 1948 26 January 1950

Governors-General of Pakistan, 1947–1956

Main article: Governor-General of Pakistan
# Name Image Governor from Governor until
1 Muhammad Ali Jinnah 15 August 1947 11 September 1948
2 Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin 14 September 1948 17 October 1951
3 Malik Ghulam Muhammad 17 October 1951 6 October 1955
4 Iskander Mirza 6 October 1955 23 March 1956

See also

References

  1. ^ Created Marquess Cornwallis in 1792.
  2. ^ Created Marquess Wellesley in 1799.
  3. ^ Created Marquess of Hastings in 1816.
  4. ^ Created Earl Amherst in 1826.
  5. ^ Created Earl of Auckland in 1839.
  6. ^ Created Viscount Hardinge in 1846.
  7. ^ Created Marquess of Dalhousie in 1849.
  8. ^ Created Earl Canning in 1859.
  9. ^ The Lord Ampthill was acting Governor-General in 1904
  10. ^ Created Earl Mountbatten in 1947.