Every Governor-General and Viceroy, their defining Acts and events, from Warren Hastings to Mountbatten — plus the written legacy of the national movement's key personalities.
| Governor-General / Viceroy | Defining Events |
|---|---|
| Warren Hastings (1773–85) | Regulating Act 1773; Pitt's India Act 1784; First Anglo-Maratha War; founded Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1784; later impeached over the Chait Singh affair. |
| Lord Cornwallis (1786–93) | Third Anglo-Mysore War; Cornwallis Code, 1793; Permanent Settlement of Bengal, 1793. |
| Sir John Shore (1793–98) | Charter Act, 1793. |
| Lord Wellesley (1798–1805) | Subsidiary Alliance introduced (1798, Hyderabad first); Fourth Anglo-Mysore War; Treaty of Bassein, 1802. |
| Lord Hastings (1813–23) | Anglo-Nepal War, Treaty of Sagauli 1816; Third Anglo-Maratha War (Maratha Confederacy dissolved); Ryotwari System introduced under Thomas Munro, 1820. |
| Lord William Bentinck (1828–35) | Abolished Sati, 1829; suppressed Thugs; Charter Act 1833; English made medium of official instruction, 1835. |
| Lord Hardinge I (1844–48) | First Anglo-Sikh War; Treaty of Lahore, 1846. |
| Lord Dalhousie (1848–56) | Second Anglo-Sikh War, Punjab annexed 1849; Doctrine of Lapse (Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur, Awadh...); India's first railway, 1853; Widow Remarriage Act, 1856. |
| Lord Canning (1856–62) | Revolt of 1857; founded Calcutta/Madras/Bombay Universities, 1857; became India's first Viceroy, 1858. |
| Lord Mayo (1863–72) | Indian Councils Act, 1861 consolidated; Statistical Survey of India; Dept. of Agriculture & Commerce. |
| Lord Lytton (1876–80) | Famine of 1876–78; Royal Titles Act, 1876 (Victoria = Kaiser-i-Hind); Vernacular Press Act & Arms Act, 1878. |
| Lord Ripon (1880–84) | Repealed Vernacular Press Act; First Factory Act, 1881; 1882 local self-government resolution; Ilbert Bill controversy. |
| Lord Dufferin (1884–88) | INC founded, 1885. |
| Lord Lansdowne (1888–94) | Indian Councils Act, 1892; Durand Commission (1893) drew the Durand Line. |
| Lord Curzon (1899–1905) | Indian Universities Act, 1904; Partition of Bengal, 1905; Muslim League founded, 1906. |
| Lord Minto II (1905–10) | Surat Split, 1907; Morley-Minto Reforms (Indian Councils Act, 1909). |
| Lord Hardinge II (1910–16) | Capital shifted Calcutta → Delhi, 1911; Bengal reunited; Hindu Mahasabha founded, 1915. |
| Lord Chelmsford (1916–21) | Lucknow Pact, 1916; GoI Act 1919; Rowlatt Act & Jallianwala Bagh, 1919; Non-Cooperation launched. |
| Lord Reading (1921–26) | Chauri Chaura, 5 Feb 1922; Moplah Rebellion, 1921. |
| Lord Irwin (1926–31) | Simon Commission, 1928; Lahore session (Purna Swaraj), 1929; Dandi March, 12 Mar 1930; Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 1931. |
| Lord Willingdon (1931–36) | Communal Award & Poona Pact, 1932; GoI Act, 1935; Burma separated from India. |
| Lord Linlithgow (1936–44) | 1937 provincial elections; WWII/Congress ministries resign; Lahore Resolution, 1940; Cripps Mission & Quit India, 1942. |
| Lord Wavell (1944–47) | Simla Conference, 1945; Cabinet Mission, 1946; Direct Action Day, 16 Aug 1946; Interim Government under Nehru. |
| Lord Mountbatten (1947) | 3 June 1947 Plan; Radcliffe boundary commissions for Bengal & Punjab; transfer of power, 15 Aug 1947. |
Order worth memorising cold: Metcalfe → Hardinge I → Dalhousie → Canning, and Minto → Hardinge II → Chelmsford → Reading → Irwin → Willingdon → Linlithgow → Wavell → Mountbatten. Anchoring 3–4 defining events per name (as above) is far more reliable in the exam hall than memorising the list in isolation.
