Timeline of Chennai history

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This is a timeline of major events in the history of Chennai.

Prehistory

Before 17th century

  • 300 BCE - 300 CE: Sangam period in Tamil Nadu. Some Chennai neighbourhoods such as Mylapore appear to have been places of prominence during the Sangam period. The Sangam period saint Thiruvalluvar is often associated with Mylapore.
  • 52 - 70: According to Christian tradition, one of the Christian apostles St. Thomas arrives in the vicinity of Chennai and preaches in the city. He is allegedly martyred on St. Thomas Mount.[1][2][3]
  • 806: Date of the oldest surviving inscription in the city, a mixed Tamil-Sanskrit record of the Pallava king Dantivarman found in the Parthasarathi Temple at Triplicane.
  • 900 - 1200 CE: Chennai forms a part of the Chola Empire. Neighbourhoods to the south of Egmore form part of the Chola province of Puliyur Kottam while those to the north form part of province of Puzhal Kottam.
  • 1522: The Portuguese occupy Mylapore and set up a colony which they name São Tomé de Meliapore.
  • 1523: Portuguese establish San Thome Church in honour of St. Thomas.

17th century

  • 1612: Dutch arrive and capture the region and establish near Pulicat, just north of the city.
  • 1626: The British East India Company decide to build a factory on the east coast and select Armagon (Dugarazpatnam), a village some 35 miles north of Pulicat, as its site.
  • 1637: Francis Day, one of the officers of the East India Company, a member of the Masulipatam Council and the chief of the Armagon Factory, makes a voyage of exploration in 1637 down the coast as far as Pondicherry in order to choose a site for a new settlement.
  • 1639: The English secures a grant from the Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka, Nayaks of Kalahasti, for getting a three-mile-long strip of land and the city of Madras is founded (22 August).[4] Foundation is laid for Fort St. George.
  • The population of the Portuguese and Dutch settlers in the region reaches 10,000, although substantially outnumbered by the local population.
A plan of the Fort St. George and surrounding settlements
  • 1640: Francis Day and Andrew Cogan land with 25 Europeans (20 February). Fort St. George is completed (23 April).
  • 1646: Population of the city recorded as 19,000.[5]
  • 1664: First British hospital in the country is started in Fort St. George (16 November); later becomes the Government General Hospital.
  • 1668: Triplicane is annexed to the city.
  • 1669: Population of the city increased to 40,000.[5]
  • 1678: Foundation is laid for St. Mary's Church in Fort St. George.
  • 1679: St. Mary's Church is completed.
  • 1688: Madras City Municipal Corporation is inaugurated.
  • 1693: Egmore, Purasawalkam and Tondiarpet are annexed to the city.[6]

18th century

An 18th-century painting of Fort St George
Surrender of the City of Madras in 1746 to de La Bourdonnais, by Jacques François Joseph Swebach
  • 1758: French Commander Lawly sieges Madras.
  • 1759: French siege ends.
  • 1760: New Black Town is developed over the debris of the old Black Town.[8]
  • 1767: Hyder Ali invades the city for the first time.
  • 1768: Chepauk Palace is built by Nawab of Arcot.
  • 1769: Hyder Ali invades the city for the second time.
  • 1772: General Hospital at Fort St. George moves to its present location.[6]
  • Seven Wells Scheme, the city's first organised water supply, is started.[8]
  • 1777: Veerappillai is appointed as first Kotthawal, giving rise to the name 'Kotthawal Chavadi'.
  • 1783: Fort St. George is repaired and attains the present shape.
  • 1784: The first newspaper, Madras Courier, is founded.
  • 1785: First post office starts functioning.
  • 1786: William Petrie, a member of the Madras Government, builds a private astronomical observatory, the first observatory in the East.[9]
  • 1788: Thomas Parry lands in Madras and begins the oldest surviving mercantile name in the city—Parry's.[8]
  • 1792: Systematic meteorological observations start, giving birth to the Madras Observatory and later the Regional Meteorological Centre.[9]
  • 1794: The Government Survey School, the oldest engineering school outside Europe and now part of the Anna University, commences at Fort St. George.[8]
  • American merchant William Abbott is appointed the first American consular agent of the Madras Presidency, marking the first consular presence in the city (24 November).[10]
  • 1795: Triplicane Wallajah Mosque is built.[8]
  • 1798: The area of the city was demarcated as the 69 sq km area surrounding the Fort and contained 16 hamlets within it.[5]

19th century

The government house at Fort St. George, 1804
  • 1817: Madras Literary Society is founded.
  • 1819: Madras Eye Infirmary, later the Egmore Eye Hospital, is established.
  • 1826: Board of Public Instructions is founded.
  • 1831: First Commercial Bank, Madras Bank, is founded.
  • First census in the city is taken (population: 39,785).
  • 1832: Madras Club is founded.
  • 1834: First survey school is inaugurated; later develops as an engineering college.
  • 1835: First medical college is founded; later becomes Madras Christian College.
  • 1840: Captain S. O. E. Ludlow begins hourly recording of meteorological observations.[9]
  • 1841: Ice House is built, where ice brought from America through ships is stored; later gets renamed as Vivekananda House.
  • 1842: First lighthouse is built.
  • General Hospital, originally meant only for the English, opens its doors to Indians.[6]
  • 1844: Higginbotham's, the first book store in the country, is opened.
  • 1846: Pachaiappan School is founded; later becomes Pachaiappa's College.
  • 1851: Museum is formed.
  • 1853: Zoo is formed.
  • 1854: Imperial Hotel is opened, which later becomes the Taj Connemara, the oldest functioning hotel in the city.[11]
  • 1855: University Board is formed.
  • 1856: First Railway line from Royapuram to Arcot is built.
  • 1857: University of Madras is founded.
  • 1862: First pier is constructed at the harbour.[5]
  • 1864–65: Presidency College is built.
  • 1868: Attempt begins to protected water supply.
  • Further developments at the harbour begin.[5]
  • 1873: Birth registration begins.
  • Madras Mail newspaper is founded.
  • Cosmopolitan Club is founded.
  • 1874: University Senate House is built.
  • 1875: Madras observatory starts issuing daily weather reports.[9]
  • 1876–78: Great Famine wipes the city.
  • 1889: High Court Building foundation is laid.
  • 1893: San Thome Church is rebuilt in neo-Gothic style.[12]
  • 1894: First car is sold; A. J. Boag, director of Parry & Co, drives the car on city roads.
  • 1895: First tram car service is inaugurated.
  • 1899: First Tamil newspaper, Swadesamitran, is founded.

20th century

City of Madras in 1909
File:Madras 1921.jpg
Map of Madras city in 1921
File:Madras 1955 reduced.jpg
Map of Madras city in 1955
  • King Institute, Guindy is founded.
  • 1917: First aeroplane flies; Simpson & Co. arranges for the trial flight.
  • 1923: The city is expanded to occupy an area of about 80 sq km.[5]
  • 1924: School of Indian Medicine is founded.
  • 1925: Loyola College is founded.
  • First bus transport begins.
  • 1942: Second World War results in evacuation of Madras.
  • 1943: Japanese fighter plane drops bombs on city and disappears.
  • Population of the city crosses the million mark.[5]
  • Madras city chose capital of Madras state
  • 1969: First World Tamil Congress is held.
  • Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning Tamil country.
  • 1971: Snake Park is inaugurated.
  • 1972: Madras Metropolitan Development Authority is formed.
  • 1973: Madras Corporation is superseded.
  • 1974: Rajaji Mandapam is built.
  • Madras Television Centre is founded.
  • Taj Coromandel hotel, the first Taj Group hotel, is opened (14 April).
  • Taj Group of Hotels opens its second hotel in the city, the Fisherman's Cove.
  • 1975: Kamaraj Mandapam is built.
  • 1988: Periyar Science Park is formed.
  • Birla Planetarium is built.
  • Madras Corporation's tercentenary is celebrated.
  • Decentralisation of administration occurs.
  • 10 circles are formed.
  • The Trident hotel is opened (March).
  • Radisson Hotels opens its first hotel, the Radisson GRT in the city (1 March).

21st century

  • 2002: The Park hotel is opened (15 May).

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5 by Erwin Fahlbusch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing - 2008, Page 285. ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2.
  2. ↑ A. E. Medlycott, (1905) "India and the Apostle Thomas"; Gorgias Press LLC; ISBN 1-59333-180-0.
  3. ↑ Thomas Puthiakunnel, (1973) "Jewish colonies of India paved the way for St. Thomas", The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, ed. George Menachery, Vol. II.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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