Viceroy of India

The Viceroy of India was the highest position in the Indian administration during the British Raj. It was considered one of the most powerful offices in the world.

The term viceroy derives from vice ("sub-") and roy (French roi, "king"), indicating his role as direct representative of the monarch. The Viceroy's wife was called the vicereine. The office was created in 1858, as an expansion of the office of Governor General.

Viceroys of India

• Charles John Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning, 1st Earl Canning (1859) 1858 - 1862
• James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, 12th Earl of Kincardine 1862 - 1863
• Sir John Lawrence 1864 - 1869
• Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo 1869 - 1872
• Thomas George Baring, 1st Viscount Baring of Lee 1872 - 1876
• Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Lord Lytton 1876 - 1880
• George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon 1880 - 1884
• Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Earl of Dufferin 1884 - 1888
• Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne 1888 - 1894
• Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin, 13th Earl of Kincardine 1894 - 1899
• George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon of Kedleston 1899 - 1905
• Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto 1905 - 1910
• Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst 1910 - 1916
• Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford of Chelmsford 1916 - 1921
• Rufus Isaacs, 1st Baron Reading of Erleigh 1921 - 1925
• Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Baron Irwin 1926 - 1929
• George Joachim Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen of Hawkshurst 1929 - 1931
• Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon of Ratton 1931 - 1936
• Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow 1936 - 1943
• Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell 1943 - 1947
• Louis Mountbatten, 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma 1947

See Also: Governor-General of India