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

Prehistory

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Before common era

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1st millennium CE

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11th century

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12th century

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13th century

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16th century

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17th century

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  • 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).[20] 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

18th century

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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.[citation needed]
  • 1759: French siege ends.[citation needed]
  • 1760: New Black Town is developed over the debris of the old Black Town.[33]
  • 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.[22]
  • Seven Wells Scheme, the city's first organised water supply, is started.[33]
  • 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.[34]
  • 1788: Thomas Parry (Chennai merchant) lands in Madras and begins the oldest surviving mercantile name in the city—Parry's.[33]
  • 1792: Systematic meteorological observations start, giving birth to the Madras Observatory and later the Regional Meteorological Centre.[34]
  • 1794: The Government Survey School, the oldest engineering school outside Europe and now part of the Anna University, commences at Fort St. George.[33]
  • 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).[35]

19th century

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The government house at Fort St. George, 1804
  • 1806: The first segment of the Buckingham canal, a saltwater navigation canal, is constructed.[37]
  • 1817: Madras Literary Society is founded.
  • 1819: Madras Eye Infirmary, later the Egmore Eye Hospital, is established.[38]
  • 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.[39][40]
  • 1836: First goods train in the country was operated from Redhills to Chindadripet Bridge.[citation needed]
  • 1840: Captain S. O. E. Ludlow begins hourly recording of meteorological observations.[34]
  • 1842: Ice House is built, where ice brought from America through ships is stored; later gets renamed as Vivekananda House.[41]
  • General Hospital, originally meant only for the English, opens its doors to Indians.[22]
  • 1844: First standalone lighthouse (second in the city) is built (1 January).[36][42]
  • Imperial Hotel is opened, which later becomes the Taj Connemara, the oldest functioning hotel in the city.[46]
  • Further developments at the harbour begin.[24]
  • Madras Mail newspaper is founded.
  • Cosmopolitan Club is founded.
  • 1874: University Senate House is built.[50]: 341 
  • 1875: Madras observatory starts issuing daily weather reports.[34]

20th century

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City of Madras in 1909
 
Map of Madras city in 1921
 
Map of Madras city in 1955
  • 1915: First commercial regular airmail service between Karachi and Madras by Tata Air Mail commences.[65]
  • 1923: The city is expanded to occupy an area of about 80 km2.[24]
  • 1924: School of Indian Medicine is founded.
  • Radio broadcasting begins (31 July).[66]
  • 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.[24]
  • Madras city chosen capital of Madras state
  • 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).[79]
  • 1988: Periyar Science Park is formed.
  • Birla Planetarium is built.
  • Madras Corporation's tercentenary is celebrated.
  • Decentralisation of administration occurs.
  • 10 circles are formed.

21st century

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  • Belgium opens its consulate (28 November)

See also

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Citations

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  4. ^ a b Muthiah 2014, p. 232.
  5. ^ Thiruvalluvar Ninaivu Malar, 1935, p. 117.
  6. ^ Arumugam, 2014, pp. 5, 15.
  7. ^ Iraikkuruvanar, 2009, p. 72.
  8. ^ The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5 by Erwin Fahlbusch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing - 2008, Page 285. ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2.
  9. ^ A. E. Medlycott, (1905) "India and the Apostle Thomas"; Gorgias Press LLC; ISBN 1-59333-180-0.
  10. ^ 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.
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References

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Further reading

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