Presidency College, Chennai
Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a graduate college. The Presidency College is one of the oldest government arts colleges in India. It is one of two Presidency Colleges established by the British in India, the other being the Presidency College, Kolkata.[1]
![]() Coat of Arms | |
Latin: Praesidentia Universitatis, Chennai | |
Former name | Madras Preparatory School, Madras High School |
---|---|
Motto | Unde Orta Recurrit (Latin) |
Motto in English | This inspired returns |
Type | Government College |
Established | 1840 |
Principal | Dr. R. Raman |
Academic staff | 249 |
Students | 4099 |
Undergraduates | 3280 |
Postgraduates | 819 |
Location | |
Campus | Urban |
Nickname | Presidencians |
Affiliations | University of Madras |
Website | presidencycollegechennai |
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History
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Sir Thomas Munro asked for a Committee of Public Instruction to form in 1826. In 1836, the committee's duties changed to the "Committee of Native Education". The plans drawn up by the committee did not commend themselves to the Governor of Madras, Lord Elphinstone, who proposed nineteen resolutions that passed unanimously.[2]
Elphinstone chose E. B. Powell, a University of Cambridge Wrangler in mathematics, to be the first principal, and Powell accepted the post. He arrived in Mumbai (Bombay) on September 20, 1840, but did not reach Chennai (Madras) until 24 November. Meanwhile, the committee had invited Cooper from Hoogly College, Kolkata, to temporarily carry out the principal duties at a salary of Rs 400 per month. Cooper accepted the invitation and came to Chennai (Madras). He and his staff opened Presidency School, a preparatory school, in a rented building in Egmore known as Edinburgh Home, on 16 October 1840. Cooper remained in the primary school for only a few months. Soon after Powell's arrival, and before the high school department opened on 12 April 1841, he returned to Kolkata. The preparatory school shifted to Popham's Broadway in 1841.[2]
The schools grew into Presidency College. When the University of Madras was founded in 1857, Presidency College became affiliated with it.[2]
In 1870, the college moved to its present location in Kamaraj Salai, opposite Marina Beach.[3]
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Ranking
Presidency College is ranked AIR 7th by NIRF 2021 for college ranking. The 2023 NIRF ranking of the college is 3rd in the college category.[4]
Notable alumni
- Alagappa Alagappan (1925–2014), Indian-born American founder of the Hindu Temple Society of North America[5]
- Alladi Ramakrishnan, Founder of Institute of Mathematical Sciences
- Vallal Dr. RM. Alagappa Chettiar, (1909–1957), Industrialist and Philanthropist
- E. S. Appasamy (1878–1963), educator, social worker in Chennai.
- K. Seshadri Iyer - Dewan of Mysore[6]
- Diwan Bahadur Siram.Venkataramadas Nayudu, Diwan of Pudukkottai and Former Chief secretary and Magistrate of Madras Presidency.
- T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty First Indian Chief Judge of the Chief Court of Mysore, Offg. Dewan of Mysore.
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar - Nobel laureate in Physics[7]
- Bharat Ratna C. V. Raman, Nobel laureate in Physics[8]
- Bharat Ratna C. Rajagopalachari, the last Governor-General of India[9]
- Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam[10] - Minister, Finance Government of India
- G. P. Pillai,[11] freedom fighter, close aide to Gandhiji during South African Indian issue
- Singaravelar,Veteran Communist leader
- T. M. Nair, one of the founders of Justice Party
- K. M. Cariappa, first Commander-in-Chief of Defence Forces of independent India
- Benegal Rama Rau, Governor, Reserve Bank of India
- S. Jagannathan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India
- K. V. K. Sundaram, Chief Election Commissioner of India (1958–1967)
- P. Chidambaram, Former Finance Minister of India
- M. P. Periasamy Thooran
- P Rajagopalachari, Dewan of Cochi state and Travancore
- V Gopalsamy (Vaiko), Former MP, Founder of MDMK
- N. Ram, managing director and Editor in Chief, The Hindu
- G. N. Balasubramaniam, Carnatic vocalist
- V. S. Chandralekha, politician and former IAS officer
- Paravastu Chinnayya Soori, Telugu scholar
- Sarvepalli Gopal, chairman, National Book Trust and historian
- Nataraja Guru[12]
- C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, Dewan of Travancore
- P. S. Sivaswami Iyer, Law Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council
- V. K. Krishna Menon (1896–1974), Defence Minister of India (1957–1962)
- C. R. Pattabhiraman, Minister, Law and Company Affairs, GOI
- Palani G. Periyasamy, businessman
- Ganapathi Thanikaimoni, Palynologist, Fyson Prize recipient
- Uma Sambanthan, social activist
- K. K. Srinivasan, founder of a pre-school for hearing-impaired children
- R. S. Subbalakshmi, educator and social reformer
- P. Subbarayan, Chief Minister of Madras
- K. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Defence Production, Government of India
- Srinivasa Varadhan, Abel Prize laureate in Mathematics
- R. K. Krishna Kumar, Former director of Tata Sons and Padma Shri awardee
- T. R. Seshadari, Chemist and Padma Bhushan award
- O. V. Vijayan, author and cartoonist,
- Toppur Seethapathy Sadasivan, Plant pathologist and Padma Bhushan awardee
- C. V. Subramanian, Mycologist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize recipient
- Pothan Joseph, Journalist
- Janaki Ammal, Botanist and Padma Shri awardee
- Thavamani Jegajothivel Pandian, Geneticist and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize recipient
- T. R. Govindachari, Natural product chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
- K. S. Hegde, Supreme court Judge and Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- M K Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
- M M Ismail, Former chief justice madras high court
- K R Ramanathan, physicist and meteorologist.
- Vazhakkulangarayil Khalid, Justice of the Supreme Court of India
- M.B Sreenivasan - Music director
- Edatata Narayanan, journalist and freedom fighter
- K.G Subramanyan, artist. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan
- Psycho Muhammad, psychologist
- Govindarajan Padmanaban, biochemist and biotechnologist
- Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, Former Chief minister Andhra Pradesh
- P. V. Rajamannar, Chief Justice Madras High Court
- A. L. Abdul Majeed, Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament
- Nilakanta Mahadeva Ayyar, member of the erstwhile Indian Civil Service
- C. V. Runganada Sastri, interpreter, civil servant and polyglot
- Sarah Chakko, first woman to be elected to the presidency of the World Council of Churches.
- M. K. Chandrashekaran, zoologist, founder of Indian chronobiology
- P. Coomaraswamy, member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon
- V. L. Ethiraj, philanthropist
- Salim Ghouse, actor
- T. R. Govindachari, chemist
- S. Srinivasa Iyengar, freedom-fighter
- L. V. Ramaswami Iyer, Indian linguist
- K. Rajah Iyer, Advocate-General of Madras Presidency
- Sarukkai Jagannathan, tenth Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
- Kadambur R. Janarthanan, Union minister of India
- K. S. Venkataramani, lawyer and an acclaimed writer in English
- V. Kanakasabhai, lawyer and historian
- Sonti Kamesam, timber engineer and scientist
- Kanmani, film director
- Pattathuvila Karunakaran, film producer and short story writer
- Gopalan Kasturi, Editor of The Hindu
- M. O. P Iyengar, prominent Indian botanist and phycologist
- Dr. V. Shanta, oncologist
- Gana Bala, Playback Singer
- Pushpavanam Kuppusamy, Folk Singer
- Thol. Thirumavalavan, Indian politician
- Moosa Raza
- Dr. A. K. Viswanathan IPS
- T. Ananda
- P. S. Sivaswami Iyer, Vice chancellor Madras University
- S. Subramania Iyer, Vice chancellor Madras University
- Palapatti Sadaya Goundar Kailasam, Chief Justice of Madras High Court
- B. Jagannadha Das, Judge of the Supreme Court of India
- D. Ramanaidu, Dadasaheb Phalke award recipient and Former MP
- Mithavaadi Krishnan, Social reformer
- Moorkoth Ramunny, First Malayalee pilot in the Royal Indian Air Force
- Kezhekapt Rukmini Menon, Second woman to be a career diplomat in India[13]
- O. V. Alagesan, Freedom fighter and Minister of States
- K. Kunjunniraja, Writer and Scholar
- Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University
- T. J. Gnanavel, Film Director
Notable faculty
- E. B. Powell
- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan[14]
- John Mathai[15]
- Alfred Gibbs Mourne
- Philip Furley Fyson
- Mark Hunter (Civil Servant)
- E. W. Middlemast
- Gustav Solomon Oppert
- Harold Papworth
- Peter Percival
- A. Chakravarthi
- Paravastu Chinnayasuri
- T. R. Govindachari
- P. C. Kokila
- T. P. Meenakshisundaram
- Mu. Metha
- Chirayinkeezhu Ramakrishnan Nair
- M. Nannan
- Samuel Satthianadhan
- B. G. L. Swami
- Atoor Ravi Varma[16]
- Perumal Murugan[17]
- M. O. P Iyengar
- U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, Tamil scholar[18]
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In popular culture
Presidency College (mainly its campus) was the place where many films were shot, including:[19]
- Mouna Ragam (1986)
- Nayakan (1987), court scenes
- Iyer the Great (1990)
- Idhayam (1991)
- Thiruda Thiruda (1993), government office scenes
- Maanbumigu Manavan (1996)
- Kadhal Desam (1996)[20]
- Sipayi (1996)
- Aaytha Ezhuthu (2004)
- Nanban (2012), hostel scenes[21]
- The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)[22]
References
- "Home". presidencycollegechennai.ac.in. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "The History of Presidency College". archives.chennaionline.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- "The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Presidency College to have bioinformatics centre". www.hindu.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- "MoE, National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF)".
- Martin, Douglas (November 2014). "Alagappa Alagappan, 88, Dies; Founded Hindu Temples Across U.S." The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- "Diwan K Seshadri Iyer". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1983". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1930". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "Chakravarti Rajagopalachari – The Last and the Only Indian to Become Governor General of India | BeAnInspirer". Be An Inspirer. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "Contact Us - IndiaInfoline". www.indiainfoline.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- Praveen, S. r. (28 February 2016). "Setting an old record straight". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- Thadathil, George (2002). "The Making of a Tradition: The Vision of Nataraja Guru" (PDF). Divyadaan. 13 (2): 159–190. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2014.
- "IFSA mourns Rukmini". Deccan Herald. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- Subramanian, Archana (2 September 2017). "On Teachers' Day, remembering an educator". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "presidency". www.presidencycollege.tn.gov.in. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ലേഖകന്, സ്വന്തം. "ആറ്റിക്കുറുക്കിയ കവിതകളുടെ ആറ്റൂര്". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- Kolappan, B. (18 February 2015). "Perumal Murugan joins duty at Presidency College". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- Subramanian, T. S. (4 July 2013). "Abode of legacy". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Reel Life Locations In Chennai Where Some Of The Best Films Were Made | LBB". LBB, Chennai. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "From Vikram Vedha To Vijay's Theri: Seven Places You Need To Make A 'Madras Film'". Film Companion. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "▓▒╚• Nanban •╝▒▓ Glorious 100 days....Great century of our 'Mass'claster! - Page 80". www.forumkeralam.in. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- Chhabra, Aseem. "'It took a decade to make The Man Who Knew Infinity'". Rediff. Retrieved 23 May 2021.