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- Last Governor General and first Viceroy of India.
- Revolt of 1857 took place. As a result, British Parliament passed the Act of 1858, which ended the rule of the East India Company.
- Withdrew Doctrine of Lapse.
- Indian Councils Act (1862) which proved to be a landmark in the constitutional history of India.
- Indian Penal Code of Criminal Procedure (1859) was passed, Indian High Court Act (1861) was enacted, and income tax was introduced in 1858.
- Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were founded in 1857.
Sir John Lawrence (1864–69)
- Telegraphic communication was opened with Europe.
- High Courts were established at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1865.
- Expanded canal works and railways in India.
- Indian Forest Department was created, and native Judicial service was recognized.
- Introduced financial decentralization in India.
- Established Rajkot College at Kathiawar and Mayo College at Ajmer for the princes.
- Statistical Survey of India was organized.
- Established Department of Agriculture & Commerce.
- Only Viceroy to be murdered in office by a Pathan convict in Andamans in 1872.
- State Railways were introduced, and a census was held in 1871, for the first time in Indian history.
- Most infamous Governor-General.
- Pursued free trade policies and abolished duties on 29 British manufactured goods which in turn accelerated the drain of wealth from India.
- Arranged Grand Darbar in Delhi (1877) when the country was suffering from a severe famine.
- Royal Title Act (1876) was passed and presented Queen Victoria with the title of the Kaiser-i-Hind.
- Arms Act (1878) was passed which made it mandatory for Indians to acquire licenses for arms.
- Proposed plan of Statutory Civil Service in 1878-79 and lowered maximum age limit from 21 to 19 years.
- The famine of 1876-78 affected Madras, Bombay, Mysore, Hyderabad, parts of central India and Punjab; appointment of Famine Commission under Richard Strachey (1878).
- Vernacular Press Act, 1878: By this act, magistrates of districts were empowered, without prior permission of Government, to call upon a printer and publisher of any kind to enter a Bond, not to publish anything which might "rouse" feelings of disaffection against the government).
- Second Afghan War, 1878-80: Much of Afghanistan was occupied by the British. Sher Ali was defeated, and he fled towards Turkistan. Sher Ali's Son, Mohammad Yaqoob Khan signed a Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879 to prevent British Invasion of the rest of the country)
- Repealed Vernacular Press Act, 1882.
- First Factory Act of 1881 was passed, to improve labour conditions in India. Reduced the working hours of local factory workers and sought to improve their conditions.
- In 1881 Lord Ripon restored the kingdom of Mysore to its ruler.
- Hunter Commission (for education reforms) was appointed under him in 1882. It brought out the neglect of primary and secondary education in the country and recommended that the responsibility for Primary Education must be given to the Local Boards and Municipal Boards.
- Government resolution on local self-government (1882). The government of Ripon desired the provincial governments to apply in the case of local bodies the same principle of financial decentralisation that Lord Mayo’s Government had begun towards them. For his contributions, Lord Ripon is called the father of local self-government in India.
- Continuation of financial decentralization: Provincial governments were authorised to resort to local taxation to balance their budgets. This was done in the context of the transfer of certain departments of administration, such as medical services, education and roads, to the control of provincial governments.
- Ilbert Bill controversy, 1883-84: The bill stated that from now on, British and European subjects would be tried in session courts by Indian judges, who were senior enough in the civil service to preside over such proceedings. It was this provision that would be a source of great anger among the European community
- Indian National Congress in was established in 1885.
- Second Factory Act (1891) was passed.
- Categorised the Civil Services into imperial, provincial and subordinate.
- Indian Council Act (1892) introduced indirect elections.
- Appointment of Durand Commission to define the line between British India and Afghanistan (1893).
- Appointment of Police Commission (1902) under Sir Andrew Frazer to review police administration. It recommended the appointment of Indians at the officer level in the police. Indians could rise only to the ranks of Inspector of Police, the senior N.C.O. position. However, they were not part of the Indian Imperial Police.
- Appointment of Universities Commission or Raleigh Commission (1902) and passing of Indian Universities Act (1904). Raleigh Commission excluded primary education completely and emphasized Higher Education only.
- Establishment of Department of Commerce & Industry.
- Calcutta Corporation Act, 1899 (it reduced the number of elected legislatures and increased the number of nominated officials to deprive Indians of self-governance).
- Ancient Monuments Preservation Act (1904) led to the foundation of Archaeological Survey of India.
- Partition of Bengal (1905) based on administrative commission. However, it was the first large experiment on Divide and Rule policy.
- A new province of Northwest Frontier Provinces (NWFP) was created.
- Younghusband’s Mission to Tibet (1904).
- Swadeshi Movement (1905–08)
- Foundation of Muslim League in 1906.
- Newspapers Act, 1908
- Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909
- Annulment of partition of Bengal (1911).
- Capital was transferred from Calcutta to Delhi (1911).
- Delhi Darbar and Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary took place in 1911.
Lord Chelmsford (1916–21)
- Government of India Act (1919) and repressive Rowlatt Act (1919) passed under him.
- Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place in 1919.
- Saddler Commission (1917) was formulated to investigate functioning of the University of Calcutta.
- Indian Sir S. P. Sinha was appointed Governor of Bengal.
- Criminal Law Amendment Act and abolition of cotton excise were done.
- Press Act of 1910 & Rowlatt Act of 1919 was repealed.
- He suppressed the non-cooperation movement.
- Simon Commission was announced in 1927.
- Other important developments were the Butler Commission (1927); Nehru Report (1928); 14 points of Jinnah (1929); Lahore session of Congress and ‘Poorna Swaraj’ declaration (1929); Civil Disobedience Movement (1930); Dandi march (1930); Ist Round Table Conference (1930); Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931).
Lord Willingdon (1931–36)
- Second Round Table Conference (1931)
- Civil Disobedience Movement (1932)
- Announcement of MacDonald’s Communal Award (1932); 3rd Round Table Conference
- Foundation of Congress Socialist Party-CSP (1934)
- Government of India Act (1935)
- Poona Pact was signed.
- Burma separated from India in 1935.
Lord Linlithgow (1936–43)
- ‘Deliverance Day’ by Muslim League in 1939
- Foundation of Forward Block by S.C. Bose (1939)
- Lahore Resolution (1940)
- August Offer (1940)
- Cripps Mission (1942)
- Quit India Movement (1942)
- Outbreak of Second World War in 1939.
- C.R. Formula 1944
- Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference in 1945; End of 2nd World War in 1945
- INA Trials in 1945; Naval mutiny in 1946
- Cabinet Mission, 1946
- Direct Action Day by Muslim League on 16th August 1946
- First meeting of constituent assembly was on Dec. 9, 1946.
- Indian Independence Bill was passed by British Parliament on July 4, 1947
- The appointment of two boundary commissions under Sir Radcliffe happened.
