This article details events in the year 1840 in India. Occurrences include the establishment of the Bank of Bombay, and the fall of the Maqpon dynasty.

Incumbents

*The Earl of Auckland, Governor-General, 1836–1842. *

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...

, aide-de-camp to Lord Auckland, 1836–1840 * William Henry Sykes, director at the East India Company, 1840–1867 *Sir John Keane, Lieutenant-General of the Bombay Army, 1834–1840 *Sir Thomas McMahon, Lieutenant-General of the Bombay Army, 1840–1847 *

George Russell Clerk Sir George Russell Clerk (pronounced ''Clark''; – 25 July 1889) was a British civil servant in British India. Life Clerk was born at Worting House in Mortimer West End, Hampshire,''1851 England Census'' the son of John Clerk of Glouces ...

, Political Agent at Lahore, 1840 *Zirat Prasad, regent of

Bhaisunda Bhaisunda, also spelt 'Bhaisaunda', was a princely state in India during the British Raj. History Bhaisaunda state was founded in 1812 by the Kalinjar family. It was one of the Chaube Jagirs, which were part of the Bagelkhand Agency of British I ...

, 1829–1840 *

Nau Nihal Singh Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh (9 March 1821 – 5 November 1840) was the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the only son of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his consort, Maharani Chand Kaur. He was known as Yuvraj Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh. He was also kn ...

, Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, 1839–1840 * Chand Kaur, Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, 1840–1841 *Bhao Rao Phanse, Dewan of Indore State, 1839–1840 *Narayan Rao Palshikar, Dewan of Indore State, 1840–October 1841 * Raghuji Bohonsle III, Maratha of Nagpur, 1818–1853 *

Gaya Prasad Gaya Prasad was the Chaube of Taraon State Taraon, also spelt Tarrauhan,Tarahwan,and Tarahuhān, was a jagir in India during the British Raj. It had an area of 67 square miles and its population was distributed in 13 villages. The capital of ...

, Chaube of

Taraon State Taraon, also spelt Tarrauhan,Tarahwan,and Tarahuhān, was a jagir in India during the British Raj. It had an area of 67 square miles and its population was distributed in 13 villages. The capital of the state was in Pathraundi, located about 1.5 ...

, 1812–1840 *Kamta Prasad, Chaube of Taraon State, 1840–1856 * Anand Rao Puar "Rao Sahib", Raja of Dewas State, 1817–1840 * Haibat Rao Puar, Raja of Dewas State, 1840–12 May 1864 * Dariao Singh, Rao of

Paldeo Paldeo, also spelt 'Paldev', was a Jagir, princely estate (Jagir) in India during the British Raj. It was under the Bundelkhand Agency of the Central India Agency until 1896 when it was transferred to the Baghelkhand Agency. In 1931 it was transf ...

, 1812–1840 * Nathu Ram, Rao of Paldeo, 1840 *Raja Ram, Rao of Paldeo, 1840–October 1842 *Sir Claude Martin Wade, first Resident of the Indore Residency, 1840–1844 * Pritam Singh, Rana of Kumharsain, 1840–1858 * Shiv Saran Singh, Rana of Baghal State, 1828–16 January 1840 *

Kishan Singh Lieutenant Colonel Kishen Singh was a former national polo player from India. He was a member of the Indian polo team that won the World Cup in 1954 at Deauville France. He was awarded Arjuna Award in 1963. He is from Jodhpur in Rajasthan ...

, Rana of Baghal State, 1840–12 March 1875 *

Jashwant Singh Maharaja Jashwant Singh ( hi, महाराजा जशवन्त सिंह, links=no) (1851-1893) was the ruler of the princely state of Bharatpur from 1853 to 1893 in Rajasthan, India. His successor was Maharaja Ram Singh. Early ...

, Raja of Nabha State, December 1783–21 May 1840 *

Devendra Singh Devendra Singh (January 12, 1938 – May 18, 2010) was a professor of Psychology at the University of Texas, known largely for his research regarding the evolutionary significance of human attraction. Biography Singh was born in 1938 in Urai, Ind ...

, Raja of Nabha State, 21 May 1840 – 18 September 1846 * Kandhaji IV,

Thakur Sahib Thakur is a historical feudal title of the Indian subcontinent. It is also used as a surname in the present day. The female variant of the title is Thakurani or Thakurain, and is also used to describe the wife of a Thakur. There are varyin ...

Palitana State History It used to be a native state of India in the Kathiawar Agency of the Bombay Presidency. Area, 289 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 52,856, showing a decrease of 15% in the decade. Gross revenue, £42,000; tribute jointly to the Gaekwar of Baroda ...

, 1820–1840 * Nonghanji IV, Thakur Sahib of Palitana State, 1824–1860

Events

*National income - ₹7,560 million * First Anglo-Afghan War, 1837–1842 * East India Company initiated the tea trade in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

* Bundelkhand Agency oversees Jalaun's annexation in accordance with the doctrine of lapse *

Jaitpur State Jaitpur State was a princely state in the Bundelkhand region. It was centered on Jaitpur, in present-day Mahoba district, Uttar Pradesh, which was the capital of the state. There were two forts in the area. The last Raja died without issu ...

, founded in 1731, is disestablished * Maqpon falls to Dogra * Jessop & Company completes construction of the first iron bridge in British India, Loha-ka-Pul over River Gomti at Lucknow, 1812–1840 * Bank of Bombay is founded on 15 April 1840 *

Chawri Bazar Chawri Bazar is a specialized wholesale market of brass, copper and paper products. Established in 1840, with a hardware market, it was the first wholesale market of Old Delhi it lies to the west of Jama Masjid in Delhi. It can be reached ...

, a specialized wholesale market of brass, copper, and paper products, is established in North Delhi * Bankura Zilla School is established in West Bengal *

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Tiruchirappalli The Our Lady of Lourdes Church is located in the city of Tiruchirapalli in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Built in the Gallo-Catholic design, the Church is devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes. The church is considered one of oldest of the 22 churche ...

, is consecrated in Tamil Nadu *

Enchey Monastery The Enchey Monastery was established in 1909 above Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim in the Northeastern Indian state. It belongs to the Nyingma order of Vajrayana Buddhism. The monastery built around the then small hamlet of Gangtok became a r ...

was established *From 3–4 March 1840, Ayya Vaikundar's followers carry him to Swamithoppe from Thiruvananthapuram in a Vahana after encountering King Swathi Thirunal *Tuvayal Pandarams begins the Tuvayal Thavasu at Vakaippathi as per the instructions of Vaikundar *The first Kodiyettru Thirunal is celebrated in Swamithope pathi in August/September while, according to Ayyavazhi doctrine, Ayya unified the Seven Virgins into himself as per their request *In December, Hari Gopalan Citar awoke following an abnormal dream in which God commissioned him to write the Akilam by giving him the first syllable of The Kappu * 4th Cavalry is converted to East India Company service as the 6th Bengal Irregular Cavalry

Law

* Lex Loci Report of October 1840 emphasised the importance and necessity of uniformity in the codification of Indian law, relating to crimes, evidences, and contract but it recommended that

personal law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

s of Hindus and Muslims should be kept outside such codification. *Crown Land (Encroachment) Ordinance vested all forests, wastes, unoccupied, and uncultivated lands to the crown * East India Trade Act 1840 is passed in the United Kingdom * Insolvent Debtors, India Act 1840 is passed in the United Kingdom

Births

*Zamindar Rohim Boksh Haji, managed the

Bhawal Estate Bhawal Estate was the second largest zamindari in Bengal (in modern-day Bangladesh) until it was abolished according to ''East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950''. History In the late 17th century, Daulat Ghazi was the zamind ...

* Robert Lang, English amateur cricketer, born 6 April 1840 at Jessore, India *

Henry Conwell Wood Henry Conwell Wood (July 1840 -18 June 1926) was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early life Wood was born in Bellary, India, to Herbert Wood and his wife, Maria-Louisa (née Conwell) and was educated at Cheltenham College. ...

, born in Bellary, Member of the Queensland Legislative Council

Deaths

* Henry Fane,

Commander-in-Chief, India During the period of the Company rule in India and the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the British Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...

, 1835-1839, died on 24 March 1840 *

, Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, died on 6 November 1840 *

, Chaube of

, Raja of Nabha State, died on 21 May 1840 *

Thug Behram Thug Behram (c. 1765 – 1840), also known as Buhram Jamedar and the King of the Thugs, was a leader of the Thuggee cult active in Oudh in central India during the late 18th and early 19th century, and is often cited as one of the world's most pr ...

Thugee Thuggee (, ) are actions and crimes carried out by Thugs, historically, organised gangs of professional robbers and murderers in India. The English word ''thug'' traces its roots to the Hindi ठग (), which means 'swindler' or 'deceiver'. Rela ...

serial killer, executed by hanging * Maqpon King Ahmed Shah, killed by Dogra Empire * Haji Shariatullah, founder of the Faraizi movement, died in Dacca

References

{{Year in Asia, 1840 India Years of the 19th century in India