Madras Chronicles

மதராஸ் முதல் சென்னை வரை

How a strip of coast became one of India's great cities — the moments that shaped the Chennai you live and rent in today.

1. Ancient

   Temple towns by the sea

   கோயில் நகரங்கள்

   Long before Madras, the settlements of Mylapore and Triplicane grew around the Kapaleeshwarar and Parthasarathy temples. The Parthasarathy temple dates to the Pallava era, around the 8th century.

   Rent in Mylapore today →

2. 1639

   The land grant that began Madras

   மதராசின் தொடக்கம்

   On 22 August 1639, Francis Day and Andrew Cogan of the English East India Company obtained a strip of coastal land from the local Nayaka rulers. That date is celebrated every year as Madras Day.

3. 1644

   Fort St. George completed

   புனித ஜார்ஜ் கோட்டை

   The fort, begun in 1640, was completed around St George's Day, 23 April 1644. Black Town (later George Town) grew beside it as the city's trading heart.

4. 1680

   St. Mary's Church consecrated

   புனித மேரி தேவாலயம்

   Inside the fort, St. Mary's became the oldest Anglican church east of Suez.

5. 1688

   India's first municipal corporation

   முதல் மாநகராட்சி

   The Madras Corporation was constituted in 1688 — the oldest municipal body of its kind in India, today the Greater Chennai Corporation.

6. 1746

   Madras under French rule

   பிரெஞ்சு ஆட்சி

   French forces under La Bourdonnais captured Madras in 1746. The city was handed back to the British in 1749 under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

7. 1856

   South India's first railway

   முதல் ரயில் பாதை

   On 1 July 1856 the first passenger train in South India ran from Royapuram towards Wallajah Road (Arcot). The Royapuram station building still stands.

8. 1857

   University of Madras founded

   சென்னைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்

   One of India's three earliest modern universities, alongside Bombay and Calcutta.

9. 1880s

   The Marina promenade

   மெரினா கடற்கரை

   Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff developed the beachfront promenade that became the Marina, one of the longest urban beaches in the world.

10. 1914

    The Emden shells Madras

    எம்டன் தாக்குதல்

    On 22 September 1914 the German cruiser SMS Emden shelled the Burmah Oil tanks at the harbour — giving Tamil the word "emden" for a daring person.

11. 1969

    Madras State becomes Tamil Nadu

    தமிழ்நாடு

    On 14 January 1969 the state was renamed Tamil Nadu, with Madras as its capital.

12. 1996

    Madras becomes Chennai

    மதராஸ் → சென்னை

    The city was officially renamed Chennai in 1996, from Chennapatnam, the name long used for the settlement near the fort.

13. 2015

    Chennai Metro opens

    சென்னை மெட்ரோ

    The first Chennai Metro stretch, Koyambedu to Alandur, opened on 29 June 2015 — reshaping where Chennai rents and lives.

Dates follow widely documented historical records, including the Greater Chennai Corporation and the Madras Day committee. Spotted an error? Tell us and we'll correct it.