Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, 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 Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...

History

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 This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle of ...

, who proposed nineteen resolutions that passed unanimously. Elphinstone chose E. B. Powell, a

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Wrangler in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern 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. The schools grew into Presidency College. When the University of Madras was founded in 1857, Presidency College became affiliated with it. In 1870, the college moved to its present location in Kamaraj Salai, opposite Marina Beach. Chennai Presidency College Main

Presidency College Madras Maths Intermediates 1941

Ranking

Presidency College is ranked AIR 7th by NIRF 2021 for college ranking. The 2022 NIRF ranking of the college is 3rd in the college category.

Notable alumni

* Alagappa Alagappan (1925–2014), Indian-born American founder of the

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Alladi Ramakrishnan Alladi Ramakrishnan (9 August 1923 – 7 June 2008) was an Indian physicist and the founder of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Matscience) in Chennai. He made contributions to stochastic process, particle physics, algebra of matrices, ...

, 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 * Diwan Bahadur Siram.Venkataramadas Nayudu, Diwan of Pudukkottai and Former Chief secretary and Magistrate of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. * T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty First Indian Chief Judge of the Chief Court of Mysore, Offg. Dewan of Mysore. *

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- Nobel laureate in

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, Nobel laureate in

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

, the last

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- Minister, Finance Government of India * G. P. Pillai, freedom fighter, close aide to

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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 *

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, Governor,

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* S. Jagannathan, Governor,

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(1958–1967) *

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, Former

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* M. P. Periasamy Thooran * P Rajagopalachari,

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

of Cochi state and Travancore * V Gopalsamy (Vaiko), Former MP, Founder of

MDMK The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( 'Renaissance Dravidian Progressive Federation') is a political party active in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. It was established by Vaiko in 1994 after he left the Dravida Munnetra K ...

N. Ram Narasimhan Ram (born 4 May 1945) is an Indian journalist and a prominent member of the Kasturi family that controls The Hindu Group of publications. Ram was the managing-director of ''The Hindu'' since 1977 and its editor-in-chief since 27 Ju ...

, managing director and Editor in Chief,

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

* G. N. Balasubramaniam, Carnatic vocalist * V. S. Chandralekha, politician and former IAS officer * Paravastu Chinnayya Soori, Telugu scholar *

Sarvepalli Gopal Sarvepalli Gopal (23 April 1923 – 20 April 2002) was a well-known Indian historian. He was the son of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the first Vice-President and the second President of India. He was the author of the ''Radhakrishnan: A Biography ...

, chairman, National Book Trust and historian *

Nataraja Guru Nataraja Guru (born P. Natarajan, 18 February 1895 – 19 March 1973) was a disciple of Narayana Guru. Nataraja Guru founded Narayana Gurukula on 1923 for the integral study of various wisdom approaches. Life P. Natarajan was born in Bangalor ...

* C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, Dewan of Travancore * P. S. Sivaswami Iyer, Law Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council *

V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawa ...

(1896–1974),

Defence Minister of India The Minister of Defence (''Rakshā Mantrī'') is the head of the Ministry of Defence and a high ranking minister of the Government of India. The Defence Minister is one of the most senior offices in the Union Council of Ministers as well as be ...

(1957–1962) * C. R. Pattabhiraman, Minister, Law and Company Affairs, GOI * Palani G. Periyasamy, businessman *

Ganapathi Thanikaimoni Ganapathi Thanikaimoni (1 January 1938 – 5 September 1986), often referred to as Thanikaimoni was an Indian palynologist. Early life and education Born on New Year's Day, 1938 in Madras, India, Thani received the Master of Science degree ...

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, Fyson Prize recipient *

Uma Sambanthan Toh Puan Umasundari Sambanthan née Subramaniam (8 September 1929 – 31 January 2020) was a Malaysian activist, social worker and leading figure of the cooperative movement. She was also the wife of Tun V.T. Sambanthan, former Malayan Labour ...

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

* K. K. Srinivasan, founder of a pre-school for hearing-impaired children * R. S. Subbalakshmi, educator and

social reformer A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

* P. Subbarayan, Chief Minister of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

K. Subrahmanyam Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam (19 January 1929 – 2 February 2011) was a prominent international strategic affairs analyst, journalist and former Indian civil servant. Considered a proponent of ''Realpolitik'', Subrahmanyam was an influential vo ...

, Secretary, Defence Production,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

* Srinivasa Varadhan,

Abel Prize The Abel Prize ( ; no, Abelprisen ) is awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modeled after the Nobel Prizes. ...

laureate in Mathematics * R. K. Krishna Kumar, Former director of

Tata Sons Tata Sons Private Limited is the parent company of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants. It is a privately owned conglomerate of ...

and

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

awardee * T. R. Seshadari, Chemist and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

award * O. V. Vijayan,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

, *

Toppur Seethapathy Sadasivan Toppur Seethapathy Sadasivan (May 22, 1913 – August 18, 2001) was an Indian plant pathologist, academic and the director of the ''Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany'' of the University of Madras. He was the founder of the ''School of Physiol ...

, Plant pathologist and

awardee * C. V. Subramanian, Mycologist,

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, Applied science, applied or Fundamenta ...

recipient * Pothan Joseph,

Journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

Janaki Ammal Edavalath Kakkat Janaki Ammal (4 November 1897 – 7 February 1984) was an Indian botanist who worked on plant breeding, cytogenetics and phytogeography. Her most notable work involved studies on sugarcane and the eggplant (brinjal). She als ...

Botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

awardee * Thavamani Jegajothivel Pandian, Geneticist and

recipient * T. R. Govindachari, Natural product chemist,

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Sir Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar OBE, FNI, FASc, FRS, FRIC, FInstP (21 February 1894 – 1 January 1955) was an Indian colloid chemist, academic and scientific administrator. The first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industr ...

laureate *

K. S. Hegde Kowdoor Sadananda Hegde (11 June 1909 – 24 May 1990) was an Indian jurist and politician who served as a judge in the Supreme Court of India and later as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Hegde founded the Nitte Education Trust. He is the father o ...

Supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Judge and

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

* M K Stalin,

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

* M M Ismail, Former chief justice

madras high court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

* K R Ramanathan,

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

and

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

. *

Vazhakkulangarayil Khalid Vazhakkulangarayil Khalid or V. Khalid (1 July 1922 — 15 November 2017) was an Indian Judge, Justice of the Supreme Court of India and acting Governor of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Career Khalid studied at Municipal High School of Kannur, ...

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

of the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

* M.B Sreenivasan -

Music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

* Edatata Narayanan,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

* K.G Subramanyan, artist. He was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...

* Psycho Muhammad,

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

* Govindarajan Padmanaban,

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and

biotechnologist Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (28 July 1909 – 20 May 1994) was the Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh, India, from 29 February 1964 to 30 September 1971. On 3 June 1977, he was elected president of the Indian National Congress. Early life Kasu ...

, Former Chief minister Andhra Pradesh * P. V. Rajamannar, Chief Justice

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

* 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 Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingualism, monolingual speakers in the World population, world's pop ...

Sarah Chakko Sarah Chakko (13 February 1905 – 25 January 1954) was an Indian college professor and administrator, president of Isabella Thoburn College in Lucknow, and the first woman to be elected to the presidency of the World Council of Churches. She w ...

, first woman to be elected to the presidency of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

. *

M. K. Chandrashekaran Maroli Krishnayya Chandrashekaran (4 September 1937 – 2 July 2009), also known as Shekar or MKC, was an Indian zoologist, regarded as the founder of Indian chronobiology, the study of biological rhythms of organisms. He was a fellow of th ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

, founder of Indian

chronobiology Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines timing processes, including periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms, such as their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms. These cycles are known as biological rhythms. Chronobi ...

P. Coomaraswamy Ponnambalam Coomaraswamy (7 December 1849 – 7 June 1906) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer and member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. Early life and family Coomaraswamy was born on 7 December 1849. He was the son of Gate Mudaliyar A. Ponnamb ...

, member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...

V. L. Ethiraj Vellore Lakshmanaswamy Ethiraj (18 July 1890 – 18 August 1960) was an Indian lawyer and philanthropist who founded Ethiraj College for Women, a college in Chennai, India. He was the first Indian to be appointed as Crown Prosecutor by th ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

* Salim Ghouse, actor * T. R. Govindachari,

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

S. Srinivasa Iyengar Seshadri Srinivasa Iyengar CIE (11 September 1874 – 19 May 1941), also seen as Sreenivasa Iyengar and Srinivasa Ayyangar, was an Indian lawyer, freedom-fighter and politician from the Indian National Congress. Iyengar was the Advocate-Genera ...

, freedom-fighter * L. V. Ramaswami Iyer, Indian

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

* K. Rajah Iyer, Advocate-General of Madras Presidency * Sarukkai Jagannathan, tenth Governor of the

* Kadambur R. Janarthanan, Union minister of India * K. S. Venkataramani, lawyer and an acclaimed writer in English *

V. Kanakasabhai Visvanatha Kanakasabhai Pillai (1855–1906) was an Indian lawyer, historian and Dravidologist of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. He was the first person to attempt a chronology of ancient Tamil Nadu. He was also one of the first people to deduce the ...

, lawyer and historian *

Sonti Kamesam Sonti Kamesam (1890–30 November 1952) was an Indian timber engineer and scientist who worked at the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun. He is best known for his patented wood preservative, ASCU, from the chemical symbols for Arsenic and Copper. ...

, timber engineer and scientist * Kanmani, film director *

Pattathuvila Karunakaran Pattathuvila Karunakaran (1925–1988) was an Indian film producer and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He was best known for his book, ''Vimarsham'' and for his association with the film, ''Uttarayanam'', the directorial debut of not ...

, film producer and short story writer * Gopalan Kasturi, Editor of

* M. O. P Iyengar, prominent Indian botanist and phycologist * Dr. V. Shanta,

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

Gana Bala Bala Murugan, better known by his stage name Gana Bala is an Indian playback singer in Tamil cinema. He rose to prominence after rendering the songs 'Aadi Pona Aavani' and 'Nadukadalula Kappala' from the soundtrack of ''Attakathi''. He has pred ...

, Playback Singer *

Pushpavanam Kuppusamy Pushpavanam Kuppusamy is a Tamil folk singer, lyricist, writer and music composer of Tamil folk art. He has been credited for reviving the Naatupura Paatu a Tamil folk art. Together with his wife Anitha Kuppusamy, he has conducted several music c ...

, Folk Singer *

Thol. Thirumavalavan Tholkappiyan Thirumavalavan (born 17 August 1962), better known as Thol. Thirumavalavan is a political leader, scholar and activist from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is a Member of Parliament from Chidambaram. Founder and Presid ...

, Indian politician *

Moosa Raza Moosa Raza is the chairman of the South Indian Educational Trust (S.I.E.T.), which runs six educational institutions; he is also chairman of the executive committee of Coastal Energen Pvt. Ltd. Raza has written a widely read book, ''Of Nawabs and ...

* Dr. A. K. Viswanathan IPS * T. Ananda * P. S. Sivaswami Iyer, Vice chancellor

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

S. Subramania Iyer Sir Subbier Subramania Iyer ( ta, சுப்பையர் சுப்பிரமணிய ஐயர்; 1 October 1842 – 5 December 1924) was an Indian lawyer, jurist and freedom fighter who, along with Annie Besant, founded the Home ...

, Vice chancellor

Palapatti Sadaya Goundar Kailasam Palapatti Sadaya Goundar Kailasam (12 September 1915―10 August 1986) was a former Chief Justice of Madras High Court and Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Career Kailasam was born in a Zamindar family of Salem district, Tamil Nadu. He passe ...

, Chief Justice of

* B. Jagannadha Das, Judge of the

D. Ramanaidu Daggubati Ramanaidu (6 June 1936 – 18 February 2015) was an Indian film producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. He founded Suresh Productions in 1964 which became of one of the largest film production companies in India. He was placed i ...

Dadasaheb Phalke award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadca ...

recipient and Former MP *

Mithavaadi Krishnan Changaramkumarath Krishnan Vakkeel was a community leader, banker, social reformer, and journalist from Kerala, India. He was a champion of implementing the revolutionary socialist reforms proposed by Sree Narayana Guru for the upliftment of th ...

, 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 * O. V. Alagesan,

Freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

and

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

s * K. Kunjunniraja, Writer and Scholar * Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Vice Chancellor of

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

* T. J. Gnanavel, Film Director

Notable faculty

* E. B. Powell *

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...

John Mathai John Matthai CIE (1886–1959) was an economist who served as India's first Railway Minister and subsequently as India's Finance Minister, taking office shortly after the presentation of India's first Budget, in 1948. He was born on January 1 ...

* Alfred Gibbs Mourne * Philip Furley Fyson * Mark Hunter (Civil Servant) * E. W. Middlemast *

Gustav Solomon Oppert Gustav Solomon Oppert, (30 July 1836 – 1 March 1908) was a German Indologist and Sanskritist. He was a professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology, Presidency College, Madras, a Telugu translator to government, and a curator in the Governm ...

* Harold Papworth *

Peter Percival Peter Percival (24 July 1803 – 11 July 1882) was a British born missionary and educator who opened religious schools in Sri Lanka and South India during the British colonial era.) During his stay in Jaffna, he led the effort to translate the ...

* A. Chakravarthi *

Paravastu Chinnayasuri Paravastu Chinnayasuri (1806/7–1861/2) (Telugu: పరవస్తు చిన్నయ సూరి) was a Telugu writer who played a prominent role in the elevation of prose to importance in Telugu literature. He was the first Telugu Pandit ...

* T. R. Govindachari * P. C. Kokila *

T. P. Meenakshisundaram Thenpattinam Ponnuswamy Meenakshisundaram (1901–1980), popularly known as Te Po Meenkshisunadaranar, was an Indian scholar, writer of Tamil and English literature and the founder vice chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University. Life Born on 8 J ...

Muhammed Metha Muhammed Metha (born 5 September 1945) is a Tamil poet and songwriter. He was born in Theni in 1945. He popularised modern poetry (''Pudukavithai'') in the 1970s and has written more than 30 books, including novels, short stories and essays. ...

Chirayinkeezhu Ramakrishnan Nair Chirayinkeezhu Ramakrishnan Nair (1 August 1929 – 10 January 1994) was a Malayalam lyricist from Kerala. He also served as a lecturer in Madras Presidency College. He penned the lyrics for around 30 Malayalam movies. Ramakrishnan alias Chir ...

* M. Nannan * Samuel Satthianadhan * B. G. L. Swami * Atoor Ravi Varma *

Perumal Murugan Perumal Murugan (born 1966) is an Indian author, scholar and literary chronicler who writes in Tamil. He has written twelve novels, six collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry. Five of his novels have been translated into Eng ...

* M. O. P Iyengar * U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, Tamil scholar Victoria hostel chennai

In popular culture

Presidency College (mainly its campus) was the place where many films were shot, including: * ''

Mouna Ragam ''Mouna Ragam'' (; ) is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam, and produced by G. Venkateswaran. The film stars Mohan and Revathi, with Karthik (guest appearance), V. K. Ramasamy, Ra. Sankaran ...

'' (1986) * ''

Nayakan ''Nayakan'' (; ) is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language gangster film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. Produced by Muktha Srinivasan, the film stars Kamal Haasan, Saranya (in her feature debut) and Karthika, with Janagaraj, Vijayan, M. V. Vasu ...

'' (1987), court scenes *''

Iyer the Great ''Iyer the Great'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language psychological thriller film directed by Bhadran and starring Mammootty, Geetha, Shobana, Sukumari and Devan. The film was a commercial success upon release. M. S. Mani won the National ...

'' (1990) * ''Idhayam'' (1991) * ''

Thiruda Thiruda ''Thiruda Thiruda'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language black comedy caper film directed by Mani Ratnam written along with Ram Gopal Varma. The film stars Prashanth, Anand, Anu Aggarwal and Heera Rajagopal while S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Salim ...

'' (1993), government office scenes * ''Maanbumigu Manavan'' (1996) * ''

Kadhal Desam ''Kadhal Desam'' () is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language action romance film written and directed by Kathir and produced by K. T. Kunjumon. The film starred Vineeth and debutant Abbas in the main leads, along with actress Tabu (in her Tamil debut ...

'' (1996) * '' Sipayi'' (1996) * ''

Aaytha Ezhuthu ''Aayutha Ezhuthu'' is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language political action film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It is loosely based on the life story of George Reddy, a scholar from Osmania University of Hyderabad. It stars Suriya in the lead ro ...

'' (2004) * ''Nanban'' (2012), hostel scenes * ''The Man Who Knew Infinity'' (2015)

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Presidency College, Chennai Arts and Science colleges in Chennai Colleges affiliated to University of Madras Educational institutions established in 1840