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The Governors of Bombay

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All the states and union territories in India have their own appointed Governors. Bombay once was itself a state known as Bombay Presidency included the places from Karachi till Hyderabad and it was having its own Governor.

British India had three Presidencies, namely Bombay, Madras and Bengal Presidencies. During the British rule, a Governor was the chief administrative and political officer of Bombay and he was administered as the executive Government of the Presidency. Governors of Bombay and Madras Presidencies were appointed by the British Kingdom and they were the most important officials after the Viceroy. The official residence of Governor Bombay was the Bombay Castle till the 1770s, then it was moved to Parel, and in 1883, it moved to Malabar Hill.

Some of the events relating to Governors during the early rule of Britishers:

  • In 1662 Abraham Shipman was appointed as the first Royal Governor of Bombay in the year 1662.
  • At the Beginning of 1668, Charles II let out the islands to the British East India Company.
  • Then on 23rd September 1668, George Oxiden was appointed as the first Company Governor of Bombay.
  • Then in the year 1687, the Company moved its headquarters from Surat to Bombay.
  • After the Company was dispersed in 1862, the British retook possession of the territory.
  • After India’s Independence in 1947, the territory was built again as the State of Bombay.

After independence, the first Indian Governor of Bombay was Raja Sir Maharaj Singh.

Universal News-Press Photographers Bombay/22.12.49, A39a A baseball match was played o November 27, 1949, at the Cooperage, Bombay, between an American base bell team from Calcutta and Bombay team. In the Photo the Governor of Bombay Raja Sir Maharaj Singh is seen giving away a prize to a winner.

On 1st May,  the State of Bombay planned to strengthen the terms of relating to regional Languages. Gujarati speaking areas were separated into the state of Gujarat and Marathi speaking areas of Bombay State. Central Provinces and Berar Hyderabad State were united as the state of Maharashtra. In 1960 Shri Prakasa was the last person to hold the title of “Governor of Bombay”.

List of Governors after Independence:

  1. Raja Sir Maharaj Singh ( 6 January 1948-30 May 1952)
  2. Sir Girija Shankar Bajpai (30 May 1952-5 December 1954)
  3. Harekrushna Mahatab   (2 March 1955-14 October 1956)
  4. Shri Prakasa  (10 December 1956-16 April 1962)

List of Governors of Bombay 1795–1948 with their tenure (Information source: Wikipedia)

1 George Oxenden 23 September 1668 14 July 1669
2 Gerald Aungier 14 July 1669 30 June 1677
3 Henry Oxenden 30 June 1677 27 October 1681
4 John Child 27 October 1681 4 February 1690
5 Richard Keigwin 27 December 1683 19 November 1684
6 Bartholomew Harris 4 February 1690 10 May 1694
7 Daniel Annesley 10 May 1694 17 May 1694
8 John Gayer 17 May 1694 November 1704
9 Nicholas Waite November 1704 September 1708
10 William Aislabie September 1708 11 October 1715
11 Stephen Strutt 11 October 1715 26 December 1715
12 Charles Boone 26 December 1715 9 January 1722
13 William Phipps 9 January 1722 10 January 1729
14 Robert Cowan 10 January 1729 22 September 1734
15 John Horne 22 September 1734 7 April 1739
16 Stephen Law 7 April 1739 15 November 1742
17 John Geekie 15 November 1742 26 November 1742
18 William Wake 26 November 1742 17 November 1750
19 Richard Bourchier 17 November 1750 1760
20 Sir John Holkell 1760 28 February 1760
21 Charles Crommelin 28 February 1760 27 January 1767
22 Thomas Hodges 27 January 1767 23 February 1771
23 William Hornby 26 February 1771 1 January 1784
24 Rawson Hart Boddam 1 January 1784 9 January 1788
25 Andrew Ramsay 9 January 1788 6 September 1788
26 William Medows 6 September 1788 21 January 1790
27 Robert Abercromby 21 January 1790 26 November 1792
28 George Dick 26 November 1792 9 November 1795
29 John Griffith 9 November 1795 27 December 1795
30 Jonathan Duncan 27 December 1795 11 August 1811
31 George Brown 11 August 1811 12 August 1812
32 Sir Evan Nepean, Bt. 12 August 1812 1 November 1819
33 Mountstuart Elphinstone 1 November 1819 1 November 1827
34 Sir John Malcolm 1 November 1827 1 December 1830
35 Sir Thomas Sidney Beckwith 1 December 1830 15 January 1831
36 John Romer 17 January 1831 21 March 1831
37 John FitzGibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare 21 March 1831 17 March 1835
38 Sir Robert Grant 17 March 1835 9 July 1838
39 James Farish 11 July 1838 31 May 1839
40 James Rivett Carnac 31 May 1839 27 April 1841
41 William Hay Macnaghten 27 April 1841 28 April 1841
42 George William Anderson 28 April 1841 9 June 1842
43 George Arthur 9 June 1842 6 August 1846
44 Lestock Robert Reid 6 August 1846 23 January 1847
45 George Russell Clerk 23 January 1847 1 May 1848
46 Lucius Cary (Lord Falkland) 1 May 1848 26 December 1853
47 John Elphinstone (Lord Elphinstone) 26 December 1853 11 May 1860
48 George Russell Clerk 11 May 1860 24 April 1862
49 Sir Bartle Frere 24 April 1862 6 March 1867
50 Sir William Vesey-FitzGerald 6 March 1867 6 May 1872
51 Sir Philip Wodehouse 6 May 1872 30 April 1877
52 Sir Richard Temple, Bt. 30 April 1877 13 March 1880
53 Lionel Robert Ashburner 13 March 1880 28 April 1880
54 Sir James Fergusson, Bt. 28 April 1880 27 March 1885
55 James Braithwaite Peile 27 March 1885 30 March 1885
56 The Lord Reay 30 March 1885 12 April 1890
57 The Lord Harris 27 March 1890 16 February 1895
58 Herbert Mills Birdwood 16 February 1895 18 February 1895
59 The Lord Sandhurst 18 February 1895 17 February 1900
60 The Lord Northcote 17 February 1900 5 September 1903
61 James Monteath 5 September 1903 12 December 1903
62 The Lord Lamington 12 December 1903 27 July 1907
63 John William Muir Mackenzie 27 July 1907 18 October 1907
64 Sir George Sydenham Clarke 18 October 1907 5 April 1913
65 The Lord Willingdon 5 April 1913 16 December 1918
66 Sir George Lloyd 16 December 1918 8 December 1923
67 Maurice Hayward 8 December 1923 10 December 1923
68 Sir Leslie Orme Wilson 10 December 1923 20 March 1926
69 Sir Henry Staveley Lawrence 20 March 1926 8 December 1928
70 Sir Frederick Sykes 9 December 1928 9 December 1933
71 John Ernest Buttery Hotson 1931 1931
72 The Lord Brabourne 9 December 1933 30 May 1937
73 Robert Duncan Bell 30 May 1937 18 September 1937
74 The Earl of Scarbrough 18 September 1937 24 March 1943
75 Sir John Colville 24 March 1943 5 January 1948
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