List of governors of Bengal Presidency

Governor of Bengal
Star of India
Last holder Sir Frederick Burrows 19 February 1946 – 15 August 1947
Government of Bengal
Status	Head of government
Member of	Legislative Council
Residence	Fort William (1834–1854) Government House (1912–1947)
Seat	Calcutta, Bengal
Appointer	Monarch of the United Kingdom (1834–1876) Emperor of India (1876–1947)
Term length	Five years
Precursor	Governor-General of Bengal
Inaugural holder	Lord William Bentick
Formation	15 November 1834
Final holder	Sir Frederick Burrows
Abolished	1 May 1854 (later re-established in 1912) 15 August 1947
Deputy	Deputy Governor (1836–1854)

The Governor of Bengal was the head of the executive government of the Bengal Presidency from 1834 to 1854 and again from 1912 to 1947. The office was initially established on 15 November 1834 as the "Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal" and was later abolished on 1 May 1854 and the responsibility of the government of the Presidency was vested in the two Lieutenant Governors of the North-Western Provinces and Bengal. On 1 April 1912 the office of Governor of Bengal was restored and lasted till the Partition of India in 1947 and was replaced by the office of the Governor of West Bengal in West Bengal.

The history of the office of the Governor of Bengal dates back to 1644, when Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, governors and presidents were appointed to look after company affairs in the Bay of Bengal. In 1773, Warren Hastings was appointed as the first Governor General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal following the enactment of the East India Company Act of 1772.

In 1833, the first Government of India Act was passed enacting that the three presidencies of Fort William in Bengal, Bombay and Madras along with a new "Presidency of Agra", were to be a part of a new "India", and the new office of Governor-General of India along with the Government of India was established. The Governor of Bengal served as the Governor-General of India in addition to his own office.

This setup lasted until the enactment of the Government of India Act 1853, following which, the office of the Governor of Bengal was abolished. From this point onwards the Presidency of Fort William existed only as a nominal administrative division without a government or a head of government. Rather it was made up of two separate lieutenant governorships with separate governments under the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces and the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. North-Western Provinces were later separated from the Presidency and united with the Oudh Province, leaving only the Bengal Division. This setup was abolished in 1912 after a proclamation by King-Emperor George V was made in 1911 re-establishing the office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal.

In 1947, India was partitioned and the new province of West Bengal was formed following the second partition of Bengal. C. Rajagopalachari was appointed as the first Governor of West Bengal. When the constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950, the office of Governor of West Bengal become a ceremonial position.

In 1932 the position came with an annual salary of approximately £114,000 (equivalent to £9,784,000 in 2023), a sumptuary allowance of £25,000 (equivalent to £2,146,000 in 2023) and a grant of £100,000 (equivalent to £8,582,000 in 2023) to cover his staff's wages. In addition to his personal staff he had 120 servants, a seventy-man mounted bodyguard, and a brass band. There were cars, two special trains, a yacht and a house boat.

Precursors (1650–1773)

In 1644 Gabriel Boughton, procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hughli, without fortifications. In 1650, the factories of Balasor and Hughli were united. On 14 December 1650, James Bridgman was appointed as the chief of the factories. However, in 1653, Bridgman left suddenly and Powle Waldegrave assumed his charge.

On 27 February 1657, the company resolved its holdings into four agencies: Fort St. George, Bantam, Persia, and Hughli. George Gawton was appointed as the Agent of Hughly. Additional three factories in Ballasore, Cassambazar and Pattana were put under the Hughly agency. In 1658, Johnathan Trevisa was appointed as the second to Gawton and was meant to succeed him after the latter's death. On 6 February 1661, the company reduced the Hughly agency under the Fort St. George, and then agent Trevisa was made the "Chief of Factories in the Bay of Bengal".

On 24 November 1681, William Hedges was appointed as the "Agent and Governor for the affairs of the East India Company in the Bay of Bengal". On 21 December 1684, William Gyfford who was the President and Governor of Fort St. George was given the additional charge of Bengal due to increasing mismanagement. John Beard was appointed as the "Agent and Chief in the Bay of Bengal" and become the subordinate to Gifford.

On 20 December 1699, the Court of Directors (London East India Company) appointed then Agent Charles Eyre was made the " President and Governor of Fort William, in Bengal". The President or Chief in the Bay of Bengal for the English East India Company was Sir Edward Littleton in whose commission and instructions, dated 12 January 1698, it was also stated that power had been obtained from his Majesty to constitute him the "Minister or Consul for the English Nation" with all powers requisite thereunto.” Littleton was later deposed by the Court of Directors in 1703.

The union of the two East India Companies took place on 23 July 1702. For united trade in Bengal, a Council was appointed, of which Nathaniel Halsey and Robert Hedges were to take chair each in their week alternatively as per the dispatch from United Company on 26 February 1702. In a dispatch of 12 February 1704, it was ordered that if Beard shall die, no one will be appointed as President to succeed him. After the departure of John Beard to Madras, Ralph Sheldon assumed the position of Chief of Council, and his appointment was confirmed in a dispatch of 7 February 1706.

On 30 December 1709, Anthony Weldon was appointed as the "President in the Bay, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief for Fort William, in Bengal" for the United East India Company. His appointment was later revoked and was supposed to be succeeded by Sheldon. Since Sheldon had died by the time dispatch arrived in Bengal, John Russell was ordered to succeed as the Governor. By a letter of 8 May 1771, the Court appointed Warren Hastings to be Governor of Bengal.

Name	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Remarks	Appointer
Chief of the factories of Balasore and Hughli					East India Company
James Bridgman		14 December 1650	1653
Powle Waldegrave		1653	1657
Agent of Hughly Agency
George Gawton		27 February 1657	11 September 1658
John Trevisa		11 September 1658	6 February 1661
Chief of Factories in the Bay of Bengal
John Trevisa		6 February 1661	31 January 1662
William Blake		31 January 1662	24 January 1668
Shem Bridges		24 January 1668	7 December 1669
Henry Powell		7 December 1669	?
Walter Clavell		~June 1672	7 August 1677	Died in office
Mathias Vincent		7 September 1677	~July 1682 (position superseded)	Deposed in July 1682
Agent and Governor for the affairs of the East India Company in the Bay of Bengal
Sir William Hedges		24 November 1681	~ August 1684	Deposed in August 1864
Agent and Chief in the Bay of Bengal
John Beard		21 December 1683	28 August 1685	Died in office
Job Charnock		~ April 1686	10 January 1693	Died in office
Francis Ellis		10 January 1693	January 1694
Charles Eyre		25 January 1694	1 February 1699	Left for England in 1699
John Beard		1 February 1699	20 December 1699 (position superseded)	Second to Eyre
President and Governor of Fort William, in Bengal
Sir Charles Eyre		20 December 1699	7 January 1701	Left on account of health issues
John Beard		7 January 1701	7 July 1705	Died in Office
President in the Bay, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief for Fort William, in Bengal
Anthony Weldon		30 December 1709	4 March 1711	Appointment revoked by the Court of Directors Resigned in March 1711
John Rusell		4 March 1711	3 December 1713	Dismissed by the Court
Robert Hedges		3 December 1713	28 December 1717	died in office
Samuel Feake		12 January 1718	17 January 1723	Left for England due to illness
John Deane		17 January 1723	30 January 1726	Returned to England
Henry Frankland		30 January 1726	25 February 1732	Returned to Europe
John Stackhouse		25 February 1732	29 January 1739	Resigned
Thomas Broddyll		29 January 1739	4 Feb 1746	Left for England
John Forster		4 Feb 1746	March 1748	Died in office
William Barewell		18 April 1748	1749	Dismissed by the Court
Adam Dawson		17 July 1749	1752	Dismissed by the Court
William Fytche		5 July 1752	8 August 1752	Died in Office
Roger Drake		8 August 1752	20 June 1758	Deposed by the Court
Col. Robert Clive		27 June 1758	23 January 1760	Resigned
John Zephaniah Holwell		28 January 1760	27 July 1760	Handed over to Vansittart who was appointed on 23 November 1759 to the office
Henry Vansittart		27 July 1760	26 November 1764	Returned to England
John Spencer		3 December 1764	3 May 1765
The Lord Clive		3 May 1765	20 January 1767	Returned to England
Harry Verelst		29 January 1767	24 December 1769	Retired from the service
John Cartier		26 December 1769	13 April 1772
Warren Hastings		13 April 1772	20 October 1773 (office superseded)	Appointed as the Governor-General of Fort William in Bengal in 1774

List of Governor-Generals

Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal (1773–1833)

The Regulating Act of 1773 replaced the office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal with Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. The office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal was restored in 1833.

Portrait	Name	Term		Appointer
	Warren Hastings	20 October 1773	8 February 1785	East India Company (1773–1858)
	John Macpherson (acting)	8 February 1785	12 September 1786
	The Marquess Cornwallis	12 September 1786	28 October 1793
	John Shore	28 October 1793	18 March 1798
	Alured Clarke (acting)	18 March 1798	18 May 1798
	The Earl of Mornington	18 May 1798	30 July 1805
	The Marquess Cornwallis	30 July 1805	5 October 1805
	Sir George Barlow, Bt (acting)	10 October 1805	31 July 1807
	The Lord Minto	31 July 1807	4 October 1813
	The Marquess of Hastings	4 October 1813	9 January 1823
	John Adam (acting)	9 January 1823	1 August 1823
	The Lord Amherst	1 August 1823	13 March 1828
	William Butterworth Bayley (acting)	13 March 1828	4 July 1828

List of Governors

1834–1854 – Governors of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal

By an Act of 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. lxxxv. Section lvi), it was enacted " that the Executive Government of each of the several Presidencies of Fort William in Bengal, Fort St. George, Bombay, and Agra shall be administered by a Governor and three Councilors, to be styled the Governor-in-Council of the said Presidencies of Fort William in Bengal , Fort St. George, Bombay, and Agra respectively, and that the Governor General of India for the time being shall be Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. From this time the Governors General of India held also the separate office of Governor of Bengal, until the year 1854. Under the Charter Act 1853 the Governor General of India was relieved of his concurrent duties as Governor of Bengal and empowered to appoint a lieutenant-governor from 1854.

Governors of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal (ex-officio Governor-General of India, 1834-1854)
No.	Name (birth–death)	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Appointer
1	The Lord William Bentick (1774–1839)		15 November 1834 (1833)	20 March 1835	East India Company
–	Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bt, ICS (acting) (1785–1846)		20 March 1835	4 March 1836
2	The Lord Auckland (1784–1849)		4 March 1836	28 February 1842
3	The Lord Ellenborough (1790–1871)		28 February 1842	June 1844
–	William Wilberforce Bird, ICS (acting) (1784–1857)		June 1844	23 July 1844
4	Sir Henry Hardinge (1785–1856)		23 July 1844	12 January 1848
5	The Earl of Dalhousie (1812–1860)		12 January 1848	1 May 1854 (28 February 1856)

1912–1935 – Governors of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal

On 12 December 1911 at the Delhi Durbar, Emperor George V announced the transfer of the seat of the Government of India from Calcutta to Delhi and the reunification of the five predominantly Bengali-speaking divisions into a Presidency (or province) of Bengal under a Governor. On 1 April 1912 Thomas Gibson-Carmichael was appointed the Governor of Bengal. Sir Frederick Burrows became the last Governor of Bengal followed by the Partition of India.

Name	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Appointer
The Lord Carimichael		1 April 1912	26 March 1917	The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst
The Earl of Ronaldshay		26 March 1917	28 March 1922	The Lord Chelmsford
The Earl of Lytton		28 March 1922	28 March 1927	The Earl of Reading
Sir Francis Stanley Jackson		28 March 1927	28 March 1932	The Lord Irwin
Sir John Anderson		29 March 1932	30 May 1937	The Earl of Willingdon

1935–1947 – Governors of the Province of Bengal

Name	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Appointer
The Lord Brabourne		30 May 1937	23 February 1939	The Marquess of Linlithgow
Sir John Arthur Herbert		1 July 1939	1 December 1943
The Lord Casey		14 January 1944	19 February 1946	The Viscount Wavell
Sir Frederick John Burrows		19 February 1946	15 August 1947

Lieutenant-Governors

Lieutenant-Governors of the Bengal Division of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal (1854–1912)

Under the Government of India Act 1853 the Governor-General of India was relieved of his concurrent duties as Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal and a separate Governor was decided to be appointed. Until then a Lieutenant Governor was to be appointed. F. J. Halliday became the first Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. William Duke served as the last lieutenant governor after which the office was superseded by the restored office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal in 1912.

No.	Name	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Appointer
1	Frederick James Halliday		1854	1859	The Marquess of Dalhousie
2	John Peter Grant		1859	1862	The Earl Canning
3	Cecil Beadon		1862	1866
4	William Grey		1867	1870	Sir John Lawrence, Bt
5	George Campbell		1870	1874	The Earl of Mayo
6	Sir Richard Temple Hart		1874	1877	The Lord Northbrook
7	Sir Ashley Eden		1877	1882
8	Sir Augustus Rivers Thompson		1882	1887	The Marquess of Ripon
9	Sir Steuart Colvin Bayley		1887	1890	The Earl of Dufferin
10	Sir Charles Alfred Elliott		1890	1893	The Marquess of Lansdowne
11	Sir Anthony Patrick MacDonnell		1893	1895
12	Sir Alexander Mackenzie		1895	1897	The Earl of Elgin
13	Sir Charles Cecil Stevens		1897	1898
14	Sir John Woodburn		1898	1902
15	James Dewar Bourdillon		1902	1903	The Lord Curzon of Kedleston
16	Sir Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser		1903	1906
17	Francis Slacke		1906	1908	The Earl of Minto
18	Sir Edward Norman Baker		1908	1911
19	Frederick William Duke		1911	1912	The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst

Lieutenant-Governors of the North-Western Provinces of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal (1835–1878)

The Government of India Act of 1833 had intended that there be four presidencies comprising India – that of Fort William in Bengal, Bombay, Madras and Agra. The new Presidency of Agra was to be created from the Ceded and Conquered Provinces of the Bengal Presidency. However the presidency was never fully created. Instead a new Act of Parliament in 1835, dissolved the new presidency and established the lieutenant-governorship of North-Western Provinces within the Bengal Presidency. The lieutenant governorship was finally separated from the Bengal Presidency in 1878 and merged with the Oudh Province which had been a Chief Commissioner's Province under the direct supervision of the Indian Government till then and the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal was abolished.

No.	Name	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Appointer (Governor-General of India)
1	Sir C. T. Metcalfe		1 June 1836	1 June 1838	The Earl of Auckland
2	T. C. Robertson		4 February 1840	31 December 1842
3	Sir G. R. Clerk		30 June 1843	22 December 1843	The Lord Ellenborough
4	James Thomason		22 December 1843	10 October 1853
5	J. R. Colvin		7 November 1853	9 September 1857	The Earl of Dalhousie
6	Colonel H. Fraser		30 September 1857	9 February 1858	The Viscount Canning
7	Sir G. F. Edmonstone		19 January 1859	27 February 1863
8	The Hon. Edmund Drummond		7 March 1863	10 March 1868	The Earl of Elgin
9	Sir William Muir		10 March 1868	7 April 1874	Sir John Lawrence
10	Sir John Strachey		7 April 1874	26 July 1876	The Lord Northbrook
11	Sir G. E. W. Couper		26 July 1876	15 February 1877	The Lord Lytton

Post-independence

In 1947, the British rule over India came to an end, and India was partitioned into two independent dominions of the Indian Union and Pakistan. Bengal Province was partitioned into the province of West Bengal in India, and province of East Bengal (later East Pakistan) in Pakistan. East Pakistan later become independent in 1971 as Bangladesh.

See also

• List of governors of Bombay
• List of colonial governors and presidents of Madras Presidency
• List of governors of West Bengal
• List of presidents of Bangladesh

Sources

• Wheeler-Bennett, John (1962). John Anderson, Viscount Waverley. London: Macmillan. OCLC 400658.

External links

• Media related to Governors of Bengal at Wikimedia Commons