List of Governor-General And Viceroy of Indian History:
The Governor General of India (the Viceroy and Governor General of India) was the head office of the British Raj on the Indian subcontinent. This list displays all the Viceroys and Governor-Generals of India and Pakistan before independence, two Governor-Generals of the Indian Union and four Governor-Generals of the Dominion of Pakistan.
The office was created in 1773 with the title of Governor General of the Presidency of Fort William. The title of Viceroy was dropped when India and Pakistan gained independence in 1947, but the office of Governor-General continued in both the new princely states until they adopted the republican constitutions in 1950 and 1956 respectively.
List of Governor-General of India till date:
| Name of governor general | Tenure | Major events of the tenure |
| Lord William Bentinck | 1828-1835 | Lord William Bentinck was the last Governor-General of Bengal, under the Charter Act of 1833, the Governor-General of Bengal was made the Governor-General of India. Thus William Bentinck became the first Governor-General of India. It banned the practice of Sati in 1829 with the help of Raja Rammohan Roy. |
| Lord Charles Metcalf | 1835-1836 | It removed control over the press during its tenure of one year, hence it is called the liberator of the Indian press. |
| lord auckland | 1836-1842 | It repaired the Grand Trunk Road from Calcutta to Delhi in 1839. |
| lord allenborough | 1842-1844 | Ellenborough's tenure is said to be the period of the policy of skillful inaction. |
| Lord Harding I | 1844-1848 | The first Anglo-Sikh war took place during this time in which the British were victorious, it banned the practice of male sacrifice. |
| Lord Dalhousie | 1848-1856 | Rail transport was started in India during the time of Dalhousie, during this time the first train was run between Mumbai and Thane on 16 April 1853. At the same time, the Post Office Act was passed, during this time, for the first time, electric wire service was started between Calcutta and Agra. |
List of Viceroys of India till date: |
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| Viceroy's name | Tenure | Major events of the tenure |
| lord canning | 1856-1862 | Revolt of 1857, Bengal Tenancy Act, Indian Penal Code and High Court Act came into existence. |
| lord elgin | 1862-1863 | Revolt of vehicles |
| Sir John Lawrence | 1863-1868 | War with Bhutan, commencement of maritime telegraph service between India and Europe (1865) Intervention policy in Afghanistan. |
| lord mayo | 1868-1872 | Financial decentralization, establishment of agriculture and commerce department, first act census (1871) |
| lord northbook | 1872-1876 | Suppressed the Kuka movement, reduced import tax and abolished export tax. |
| lord ripon | 1876-1880 | Delhi Durbar (1877 Victoria declared Empress of India), lowering of civil service age from 21 to 19 years, Muslim Anglo Oriental College (Aligarh) established, Famine Commission headed by Richard Strachey, Vernacular Press Act (1818) |
| Lord Lytton | 1880-1884 | Beginning of Regular Census (1818), Ilbert Bill, 1883 (Proposal to remove judicial disqualification on grounds of caste discrimination) |
| lord dufferin | 1884-1888 | Establishment of Indian National Congress (1885), Third Anglo-Burma (1885-1888) |
| Lord Lansdowne | 1888-1894 | India Council Act (1892), constitution of Durand Commission (Objective-India-Afghanistan Boundary Determination) |
| Lord Elgin II | 1894-1899 | Anglo-Russian Treaty, 1895 (Oxus River, the northern boundary of the British Empire determined) Severe famine in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh |
| Lord Curzon | 1899-1905 | Establishment of Police Commission under the chairmanship of Andrew Fraser (1902), Establishment of Archaeological Department (1904), Partition of Bengal (1905) |
| Lord Minto II | 1905-1910 | Anglo-Russia Treaty 1907, Formation of Muslim League, Marl Minto Act to defend against Germany's threat |
| Lord Harding II | 1910-1916 | Delhi Durbar 1911, Capital shifted to Delhi, Bengal Partition canceled |
| Lord Chelmsford | 1916-1921 | Women's University Establishment (Poona 1917), Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre |
| Lord Reading | 1921-1926 | Visit of Prince Wales to India (1921), Formation of Swaraj Party (1923) |
| lord irwin | 1926-1931 | Coming of Simon Commission to India, Lahore Session of Congress (1929), Civil Disobedience Movement Begin (1930), First Round Table Conference, Gandhi Irwin Pact |
| lord billington | 1931-1936 | Second Round Table Conference (1931) Communal Award (1932), Poona Pact (September, 1932), Government of India Act 1935) |
| lord linalithgow | 1936-1944 | Provincial elections (1937 formation of Congress government in eight provinces), Resignation of Congress cabinet in protest against India without consent in World War II, Muslim League celebrated Liberation Day (22 December 1939), August Resolution (August 1940) |
| Lord Wavell | 1944-1947 | Shimla Conference (1945), Arrival of Cabinet Mission in India |
| lord mountain | 1947-1948 | Mountbatten Plan (June 3, 1947) Indian Independence Act, 1947 AD. |
| Chakravarti Rajagopalachari | 1948-1950 | After the return of Lord Mountbatten, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was made the Governor-General of India on 21 June 1948. He was the first Indian and the last Governor-General of independent India. |
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Governor General and Viceroy FAQs:
Lord Charles Canning was the Governor-General of India at the time of the Revolt of 1857. Canning handled the administration and most departments of the government normally during the rebellion and took major administrative decisions even during the height of the rebellion in 1857.
Lord Dalhousie introduced the lapsed doctrine. The Lapse Doctrine is the main means through which Lord Dalhousie implemented his policy-making. Under this doctrine, if a ruler of an Indian state died without a natural heir, that state would pass under British dominion.
The first Industries Act was passed during the reign of Viceroy Lord Ripon. The Act made provisions regarding the safety, health and working conditions of workers in factories. Through this act, safe and qualified human rights were guaranteed to the workers.
At the time of the partition of Bengal in 1905, the post of Viceroy was handed over to Lord Curzon. He served as the Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905. The Partition of Bengal implemented in 1905 divided the Bengal province into southern and eastern parts to create a new province between the northern and western parts.
The first Viceroy of India was Lord Canning. He was the first Governor-General and first Viceroy of British India. His tenure lasted from the year 1856 to 1862. During Lord Canning's tenure, he called for non-violence and patience during the Sepoy Mutiny (Indian Mutiny) of 1857.