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Timeline of Chennai

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

Prehistory

Before common era

1st millennium CE

11th century

12th century

13th century

16th century

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). 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.
  • 1640: Francis Day and Andrew Cogan land with 25 Europeans (20 February). Fort St. George is completed (23 April).
*Kalikambal Temple is moved to its present-day location.
  • 1646: Population of the city recorded as 19,000.
  • 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.
  • 1678: Foundation is laid for St. Mary's Church in Fort St. George on Lady Day.
  • 1680: St. Mary's Church is completed and consecrated on 28th October.
  • 1683: First Commercial Bank, The Madras Bank, is founded.
  • 1688: Madras City Municipal Corporation is inaugurated (29 September).
  • 1693: Egmore, Purasawalkam and Tondiarpet are annexed to the city.

18th century

* Wall is built around Black Town.
  • 1711: First printing press is erected.
  • 1751: East India Company acquires Tondiarpet.
  • 1721: Cyclone strikes (13 and 14 November).
  • 1726: Coja Petrus Uscan constructs the 134 stone steps at St. Thomas Mount, which are still used to reach the summit of the 300-feet hillock.
  • 1735: Chintadripet is formed.
  • 1742: Vepery, Periamet, Perambur and Pudupakkam are annexed to the city.
  • 1744: Robert Clive, who later goes on to become the hero of the Carnatic, works as a writer at Fort St. George.
  • 1746: The French Admiral La Bourdonnais capture Fort St George.
  • 1749: The French return Madras to the English through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748).
* Santhome and Mylapore are annexed to the city.
  • 1758: French Commander Lawly sieges Madras.
  • 1759: French siege ends.
  • 1760: New Black Town is developed over the debris of the old Black Town.
  • 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.
* Seven Wells Scheme, the city's first organised water supply, is started.
  • 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.
  • 1788: Thomas Parry (Chennai merchant) lands in Madras and begins the oldest surviving mercantile name in the city—Parry's.
  • 1792: Systematic meteorological observations start, giving birth to the Madras Observatory and later the Regional Meteorological Centre.
  • 1794: The Government Survey School, the oldest engineering school outside Europe and now part of the Anna University, commences at Fort St. George.
* 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).
  • 1795: Triplicane Wallajah Mosque is built.
  • 1796: First lighthouse, functioning from the roof of the Officer's Mess (now housing the Fort Museum), is built.
  • 1798: The area of the city was demarcated as the 69&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> area surrounding the Fort and contained 16 hamlets within it.

19th century

  • 1806: The first segment of the Buckingham canal, a saltwater navigation canal, is constructed.
  • 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 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 (2 February); later becomes Madras Medical College.
  • 1836: First goods train in the country was operated from Redhills to Chindadripet Bridge.
  • 1840: Captain S. O. E. Ludlow begins hourly recording of meteorological observations.
  • 1842: Ice House is built, where ice brought from America through ships is stored; later gets renamed as Vivekananda House.
* General Hospital, originally meant only for the English, opens its doors to Indians.
  • 1844: First standalone lighthouse (second in the city) is built (1 January).
* Higginbotham's, the first book store in the country, is opened.
* Imperial Hotel is opened, which later becomes the Taj Connemara, the oldest functioning hotel in the city.
  • 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.
  • 1864–65: Presidency College is built.
  • 1868: Attempt begins to protected water supply.
* Further developments at the harbour begin.
* Madras Mail newspaper is founded.
* Cosmopolitan Club is founded.
  • 1874: University Senate House is built.
  • 1875: Madras observatory starts issuing daily weather reports.
* Edward VII lays the foundation for the new harbour in the city.
* The 8-km-stretch of the Buckingham Canal linking the Adyar and Cooum rivers is dug.
* King Institute, Guindy is founded (7 November).

20th century

* Giacomo D'Angelis tests the first ever flight in Asia, an indigenous aircraft, in the suburb of Pallavaram, arranged by Simpson & Co. (10 March).
* Street lights are introduced.
* Kilpauk water works is inaugurated.
* Bombardment of Madras—German fighter vessel Emden bombarded the sea shore and disappeared during the First World War.
  • 1915: First commercial regular airmail service between Karachi and Madras by Tata Air Mail commences.
  • 1923: The city is expanded to occupy an area of about 80&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.
  • 1924: School of Indian Medicine is founded.
* Radio broadcasting begins (31 July).
* First bus transport begins.
* Government Stanley Hospital is established.
  • 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.
* Madras city chosen capital of Madras state
  • 1950: Boundary of the city is extended to cover 129&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> by the inclusion of Saidapet and Sembium
  • 1952: Nehru Stadium is built.
* Integral Coach Factory starts functioning.
* Adyar Cancer Institute is founded.
  • 1953: Government Dental College is founded (10 August).
  • 1956: Gandhi Mandapam is built.
  • 1956: Madras city is made the capital of Tamil Nadu state.
  • 1957: Sri Lanka opens its consulate.
  • 1959: Guindy Children's Park is inaugurated.
* LIC Building is built.
* Stedeford Hospital starts functioning (25 February).
  • 1969: First World Tamil Congress is held.
* Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning Tamil country.
* Madras Metropolitan Development Authority is formed.
* Madras Television Centre is founded.
* Taj Coromandel hotel, the first luxury hotel in Chennai, is opened (14 April).
* Madras Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board is formed.
* Kanagam, Taramani, Thiruvanmiyur, Velacheri, Kodambakkam, Virugambakkam, Saligramam, Koyambedu, Thirumangalam, Villivakkam, Errukancheri, Kolathur and Kodungaiyur panchayat areas are annexed to the city.
* Apollo Hospitals opens the country's first corporate hospital.
* Madras Medical Mission hospital is established.
  • 1988: Periyar Science Park is formed.
* Birla Planetarium is built.
* Madras Corporation's tercentenary is celebrated.
* Decentralisation of administration occurs.
* 10 circles are formed.
  • 1990: Sundaram Medical Foundation is established.
  • 1995: Australia opens its consulate.
  • 1996: City of Madras is renamed as Chennai.
  • 1998: Maximum permissible height of tall buildings is raised from 40&nbsp;m to 60&nbsp;m.
  • 1999: MIOT Hospital is established.

21st century

* Belgium opens its consulate (28 November)
* The 2015 South Indian floods cause the deaths of hundreds of people and damages worth several billions of dollars.

See also

Citations

References

Further reading

External links