Governor-General of Bengal
| Year | Governors-General of Bengal | Major Reforms & Events |
| 1772-1785 | Warren Hastings | First Governor of Bengal End to the dual system of administration Regulating Act of 1773 Supreme court at Calcutta Asiatic Society of Bengal First Anglo-Maratha War and Treaty of Salbai First English translation of Bhagavad Gita Pitt’s India Act-1784 |
| 1786-1793 | Lord Cornwallis | Establishment of Appellate courts and lower grade courts Establishment of Sanskrit college Third Anglo-Mysore War and Treaty of Seringapatam Introduction of Permanent Settlement and civil services |
| 1793-1798 | Sir John Shore | Charter act of 1793 Policy of Non-intervention Battle of Kharda |
| 1798-1805 | Lord Wellesley | Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance System Fourth Anglo- Mysore war and the Treaty of Bassein Second Anglo – Maratha war Establishment of Madras presidency Establishing Fort William College at Calcutta |
| 1805-1807 | Sir George Barlow | The Acting Governor-General of India until the arrival of Lord Minto, Diminished the area of British territory because of his passion for economy and retrenchment, The Mutiny of Vellore took place in 1806 |
| 1807-1813 | Lord Minto I | Concluded the treaty of Amritsar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1809, Introduced the Charter Act of 1813 |
| 1813-1823 | Lord Hastings | The policy of Non-intervention came to an end third Anglo-Maratha war Abolition of Peshwaship Establishment of the Ryotwari System in Madras (By Thomas Munroe) and Bombay Mahalwari system in north-western Provinces and Bombay |
| 1823-1828 | Lord Amherst | The annexation of Assam leading to the first Burmese war of 1824, The mutiny of Barrackpore in 1824 |
Governors-Generals of India
| Year | Governors-General of India | Major Reforms |
| 1828-1835 | Lord William Bentinck | First Governor-General of India (Charter Act of 1833 made Governor-General of Bengal as Governor-General of India.) Abolition of Sati Suppression of Thugi, infanticide and child sacrifices. English Education Act of 1835 Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata |
| 1835-1836 | Lord Charles Metcalfe | ‘Liberator of the Indian press detached all restraints on an open press |
| 1836-1842 | Lord Auckland | Dedicated himself to the improvement of native schools and the expansion of the commercial industry of IndiaThe first Anglo-Afghan war |
| 1842-1844 | Lord Ellenborough | Sindh was annexed |
| 1844-1848 | Lord Hardinge I | First Anglo Sikh War (1845-46) |
| Lord Dalhousie (Governors-General of India) | introduced ‘Doctrine of Lapse‘ Doctrine of Good Charles Wood Dispatch Post Office Act, 1854 1st Railway line connecting Bombay and Thane Established engineering college in Roorkee Second Anglo-Sikh War First telegraph line Establishment of the Public Works Department Abolition of titles and pensions. Started Competitive examination for Indian Civil Services Widow Remarriage Act | |
| 1856-1857 | Lord Canning | Three universities at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay in 1857 were established Revolt of 1857 took place |
Note – Post-1857 Revolt, Governor-General of India was made Viceroy of British India and Canning became the first Viceroy of India/British India.
Viceroys in India from 1858 to 1947
| Viceroy | Tenure | Achievement |
| Lord Canning | 1858-1862 | Abolished doctrine of lapse |
| Lord Elgin | 1862 – 1863 | Wahabi Movement |
| Lord Lawrence | 1864 – 1869 | Establishment of High court in Calcutta, Madras during his reign. Anglo-Bhutanese war |
| Lord Mayo | 1869 – 1872 | Financial Distribution between centre and state introduced for the first time First Census in 1872 Mayo College for the royal elite was set up Lord Mayo was the only Governor-General who was killed in India. He was killed by Sher Ali Afridi in Port Blair Establishment of Statistical Survey of India |
| Lord Northbrook | 1872 – 1876 | Civil Marriage and Arya Samaj marriage introduced Universal Marriage Act introduced in 1872 Intercaste Marriage allowed Kuka Movement in Punjab |
| Lord Lytton | 1876 – 1880 | Vernacular Press Act, 1878 Arms Act, 1878 Nationalist view – Due to High rate of taxation purchasing power had reduced. Government view – Drought is natural phenomena due to which people became poor Ignored severe famine and organized durbar. Proclaimed Queen Victoria “The Empress of India” Abolished tax on cotton for British traders Maximum age to take up civil services exam lowered from 21 to 19 |
| Lord Ripon | 1880 – 1884 | Was the most loved Governor-General Repealed the controversial Arms and Vernacular press act Set up Local self-governments – Panchayats and Municipal Boards due to which he was known as Father of Self Government 2 new universities opened – Punjab University 1884, Allahabad University 1887 Illbert Bill – Indian judge cannot try English Judge Appointment of Hunter Commission |
| Lord Dufferin | 1884 – 1888 | III Anglo-‐Burmese war (1885-‐1886) Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 |
| Lord Lansdowne | 1888 – 1894 | Indian Councils Act, 1892 (Indirect election was introduced for the first time) Factory Act, 1891 |
| Lord Elgin II | 1894 – 1899 | First British Officer called Rands was killed. He was killed by Chapekar (Ramkrishna & Damodar) Brothers. This was the first political murder. |
| Lord Curzon | 1899 – 1905 | Indian Universities act – to control Indian Universities Raleigh Commission Partition of Bengal Curzon-Kitchener controversy |
| Lord Minto II | 1905 – 1910 | Morley – Minto reforms |
| Lord Hardinge II | 1910 – 1916 | Mesopotamian Campaign Transfer of Capital from Calcutta to Delhi Hindu Mahasabha was established by Madan Mohan Malaviya |
| Lord Chelmsford | 1916 – 1921 | Home Rule League Movements Rowlatt Act was passed Montague – Chelmsford reform was passed |
| Lord Reading | 1921 – 1926 | Swaraj Party was formed Chauri – Chaura incident took place |
| Lord Irwin | 1926 – 1931 | Launch of civil disobedience movement and Dandi march First round table conference was held |
| Lord Willingdon | 1931 – 1936 | Second & Third Round Table Conference Poona pact was signed Communal award was started |
| Lord Linlithgow | 1936 – 1944 | Cripps Mission Quit India movement |
| Lord Wavell | 1944 – 1947 | CR Formula 1944 Launch of Direct Action day Wavell Plan & Shimla conference |
| Lord Mountbatten | 1947-48 | June 3rd Plan Last Viceroy and First Governor-General of free India |
- The only Indian Governor-General of India who was CR Gopalachari. India was made a republic in 1950. He was the last governor-general of India, following which the post was abolished.