Governor-General vs Viceroy: The Three Titles
SSC questions on this topic ask "Who was the Governor-General when X happened?". First fix the three titles:
| Title | Created by | First holder |
|---|---|---|
| Governor-General of Bengal | Regulating Act, 1773 | Warren Hastings (1773) |
| Governor-General of India | Charter Act, 1833 | Lord William Bentinck (1833) |
| Viceroy and Governor-General of India | Government of India Act, 1858 | Lord Canning (1858) |
| Governor-General of the Dominion of India | Indian Independence Act, 1947 | Lord Mountbatten (1947) |
Key takeaway: First GG of Bengal = Warren Hastings. First GG of India = William Bentinck. Last GG of India under the Company and first Viceroy = Canning. Last Viceroy and first GG of free India = Mountbatten. First and last Indian GG = C. Rajagopalachari (1948-1950).
Pair this note with our Mughal emperors list in order for the transition from Mughal to British rule, and with the President of India list 1950 to 2026 for the office that replaced the Governor-General in 1950.
Governors-General of Bengal (1773-1833)
| Governor-General | Tenure | Remember for |
|---|---|---|
| Warren Hastings | 1773-1785 | Regulating Act 1773; Asiatic Society of Bengal founded (1784) by William Jones; Pitt's India Act 1784 |
| Lord Cornwallis | 1786-1793 | Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793); father of the Indian Civil Services; Third Anglo-Mysore War |
| Sir John Shore | 1793-1798 | Policy of non-intervention |
| Lord Wellesley | 1798-1805 | Subsidiary Alliance (1798); Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, death of Tipu Sultan (1799); Fort William College |
| Lord Minto I | 1807-1813 | Treaty of Amritsar with Ranjit Singh (1809); Charter Act 1813 |
| Lord Hastings (Moira) | 1813-1823 | Anglo-Nepal War (Treaty of Sugauli, 1816); Third Anglo-Maratha War; end of the Peshwa |
| Lord Amherst | 1823-1828 | First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26) |
| Lord William Bentinck | 1828-1833 | Abolition of Sati (1829); suppression of Thuggee |
Governors-General of India (1833-1858)
| Governor-General | Tenure | Remember for |
|---|---|---|
| Lord William Bentinck | 1833-1835 | Charter Act 1833 made him first GG of India; English Education Act (Macaulay's Minute, 1835) |
| Sir Charles Metcalfe | 1835-1836 | "Liberator of the Indian Press" |
| Lord Auckland | 1836-1842 | First Anglo-Afghan War |
| Lord Ellenborough | 1842-1844 | Annexation of Sindh (1843) |
| Lord Hardinge I | 1844-1848 | First Anglo-Sikh War; Treaty of Lahore (1846) |
| Lord Dalhousie | 1848-1856 | Doctrine of Lapse; first railway Bombay-Thane (1853); telegraph and postal reforms; Wood's Despatch (1854); annexation of Awadh (1856) |
| Lord Canning | 1856-1858 | Revolt of 1857; universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (1857); then first Viceroy |
Viceroys of India (1858-1947)
| Viceroy | Tenure | Remember for |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Canning | 1858-1862 | Queen's Proclamation (1858); Indian Councils Act 1861 |
| Lord Elgin I | 1862-1863 | Wahabi movement |
| Sir John Lawrence | 1864-1869 | Bhutan War (1865); policy of "masterly inactivity" towards Afghanistan |
| Lord Mayo | 1869-1872 | First (non-synchronous) census (1872); assassinated in the Andamans (1872) |
| Lord Northbrook | 1872-1876 | Kuka movement in Punjab |
| Lord Lytton | 1876-1880 | Delhi Durbar (1877); Vernacular Press Act and Arms Act (1878) |
| Lord Ripon | 1880-1884 | Local self-government resolution (1882); Ilbert Bill; repeal of Vernacular Press Act; first synchronous census (1881); Hunter Commission |
| Lord Dufferin | 1884-1888 | Indian National Congress founded (1885) |
| Lord Lansdowne | 1888-1894 | Durand Line (1893); Indian Councils Act 1892 |
| Lord Elgin II | 1894-1899 | Plague in Bombay; assassination of Rand by the Chapekar brothers (1897) |
| Lord Curzon | 1899-1905 | Partition of Bengal (1905); Ancient Monuments Preservation Act (1904); Indian Universities Act (1904) |
| Lord Minto II | 1905-1910 | Muslim League founded (1906); Surat split (1907); Morley-Minto Reforms (1909) |
| Lord Hardinge II | 1910-1916 | Delhi Durbar (1911); partition of Bengal annulled; capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi (announced 1911) |
| Lord Chelmsford | 1916-1921 | Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919); Rowlatt Act; Jallianwala Bagh (1919); Non-Cooperation Movement |
| Lord Reading | 1921-1926 | Chauri Chaura (1922); Swaraj Party (1923) |
| Lord Irwin | 1926-1931 | Simon Commission; Dandi March (1930); Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) |
| Lord Willingdon | 1931-1936 | Communal Award and Poona Pact (1932); Government of India Act 1935 |
| Lord Linlithgow | 1936-1944 | Cripps Mission and Quit India Movement (1942) |
| Lord Wavell | 1944-1947 | Shimla Conference (1945); Cabinet Mission (1946) |
| Lord Mountbatten | 1947 | Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947); Independence and Partition |
After 15 August 1947: Lord Mountbatten (Governor-General of the Dominion, 1947-1948) and C. Rajagopalachari (1948-1950), the only Indian to hold the post. The office ended on 26 January 1950.
Trick to Remember the Viceroys in Order
Learn the 20 Viceroys of 1858-1947 in four five-letter blocks:
- CELMN - Canning, Elgin I, Lawrence, Mayo, Northbrook (1858-1876)
- LRDLE - Lytton, Ripon, Dufferin, Lansdowne, Elgin II (1876-1899)
- CMHCR - Curzon, Minto II, Hardinge II, Chelmsford, Reading (1899-1926)
- IWLWM - Irwin, Willingdon, Linlithgow, Wavell, Mountbatten (1926-1947)
Event hooks: Lytton = Lock the press (Vernacular Press Act); Ripon = Release it (repeal) and local self-government; Curzon = Cut Bengal; Hardinge II = Heal Bengal and move the capital.
Common Mistakes
- Calling Warren Hastings the first GG of India. He was the first GG of Bengal.
- Giving Dalhousie for the 1857 revolt. It was Canning.
- Mixing Lord Hastings (1813-23) with Warren Hastings (1773-85).
- Mixing Minto I (1807-13) with Minto II (1905-10), and Hardinge I with Hardinge II.
- Saying Mountbatten was the last Governor-General. The last was C. Rajagopalachari.
Governor General of India Questions with Answers
- Who was the first Governor-General of Bengal? Answer: Warren Hastings.
- Who was the first Governor-General of India? Answer: Lord William Bentinck (Charter Act 1833).
- Who was the first Viceroy of India? Answer: Lord Canning.
- Sati was abolished during whose tenure? Answer: Lord William Bentinck (1829).
- The Doctrine of Lapse is linked with? Answer: Lord Dalhousie.
- Who was the Viceroy when the INC was founded? Answer: Lord Dufferin (1885).
- Partition of Bengal (1905) happened under? Answer: Lord Curzon.
- The Vernacular Press Act was repealed by? Answer: Lord Ripon.
- Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed in? Answer: 1931.
- Who was the only Indian Governor-General? Answer: C. Rajagopalachari.
Practise modern history in the SSC CGL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 02 and SSC CHSL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01.
Governor General of India FAQs
Who was the first Governor-General of India?
Lord William Bentinck, under the Charter Act of 1833. Before him, Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal (1773).
Who was the first and last Viceroy of India?
Lord Canning was the first Viceroy (1858) and Lord Mountbatten the last (1947).
Who was the last Governor-General of independent India?
C. Rajagopalachari (1948-1950), the first and only Indian to hold the post.
Practice Next
- New SSC CGL practice: SSC CGL History Mock Test 01.
- Mock tests: SSC CGL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 02, SSC CGL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 03 and SSC CHSL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01.
- Related notes: Mughal emperors list in order, President of India list 1950 to 2026, RBI Governor list 1935 to 2026 and fundamental rights Articles 12 to 35.
- Exam details: SSC CGL 2026.
- Browse all study notes.