The Governor of Bengal was the head of the executive government of the Bengal Presidency from 1834 to 1854 and again from 1912 to 1947.^[1][2] The office was initially established on 15 November 1834 as the "Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal" and was later abolished on 1 May 1854 and the responsibility of the government of the Presidency was vested in the two Lieutenant Governors of the North-Western Provinces and Bengal.^{[lower-alpha 1]} On 1 April 1912 the office of Governor of Bengal was restored and lasted till the Partition of India in 1947 and was replaced by the office of the Governor of West Bengal in West Bengal.

The history of the office of the Governor of Bengal dates back to 1644, when Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, governors and presidents were appointed to look after company affairs in the Bay of Bengal. In 1773, Warren Hastings was appointed as the first Governor General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal following the enactment of the East India Company Act of 1772.^[3]

In 1833, the first Government of India Act was passed enacting that the three presidencies of Fort William in Bengal, Bombay and Madras along with a new "Presidency of Agra", were to be a part of a new "India", and the new office of Governor-General of India along with the Government of India was established. The Governor of Bengal served as the Governor-General of India in addition to his own office.^[4]

This setup lasted until the enactment of the Government of India Act 1853, following which, the office of the Governor of Bengal was abolished. From this point onwards the Presidency of Fort William existed only as a nominal administrative division without a government or a head of government. Rather it was made up of two separate lieutenant governorships with separate governments under the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces and the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. North-Western Provinces were later separated from the Presidency and united with the Oudh Province, leaving only the Bengal Division. This setup was abolished in 1912 after a proclamation by King-Emperor George V was made in 1911 re-establishing the office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal.^[5]

In 1947, India was partitioned and the new province of West Bengal was formed following the second partition of Bengal. C. Rajagopalachari was appointed as the first Governor of West Bengal. When the constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950, the office of Governor of West Bengal become a ceremonial position.

In 1932 the position came with an annual salary of approximately £114,000 (equivalent to £8,241,000 in 2021), a sumptuary allowance of £25,000 (equivalent to £1,807,000 in 2021) and a grant of £100,000 (equivalent to £7,229,000 in 2021) to cover his staff's wages.^[6] In addition to his personal staff he had 120 servants, a seventy-man mounted bodyguard, and a brass band. There were cars, two special trains, a yacht and a house boat.^[7]

In 1644 Gabriel Boughton, procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hughli, without fortifications. In 1650, the factories of Balasor and Hughli were united. On 14 December 1650, James Bridgman was appointed as the chief of the factories. However, in 1653, Bridgman left suddenly and Powle Waldegrave assumed his charge.

On 27 February 1657, the company resolved its holdings into four agencies: Fort St. George, Bantam, Persia, and Hughli. George Gawton was appointed as the Agent of Hughly. Additional three factories in Ballasore, Cassambazar and Pattana were put under the Hughly agency. In 1658, Johnathan Trevisa was appointed as the second to Gawton and was meant to succeed him after the latter's death. On 6 February 1661, the company reduced the Hughly agency under the Fort St. George, and then agent Trevisa was made the "Chief of Factories in the Bay of Bengal".

On 24 November 1681, William Hedges was appointed as the "Agent and Governor for the affairs of the East India Company in the Bay of Bengal". On 21 December 1684, William Gyfford who was the President and Governor of Fort St. George was given the additional charge of Bengal due to increasing mismanagement. John Beard was appointed as the "Agent and Chief in the Bay of Bengal" and become the subordinate to Gifford.

On 20 December 1699, the Court of Directors (London East India Company) appointed then Agent Charles Eyre was made the " President and Governor of Fort William, in Bengal". The President or Chief in the Bay of Bengal for the English East India Company was Sir Edward Littleton in whose commission and instructions, dated 12 January 1698, it was also stated that power had been obtained from his Majesty to constitute him the "Minister or Consul for the English Nation" with all powers requisite thereunto.” Littleton was later deposed by the Court of Directors in 1703.

The union of the two East India Companies took place on 23 July 1702. For united trade in Bengal, a Council was appointed, of which Nathaniel Halsey and Robert Hedges were to take chair each in their week alternatively as per the dispatch from United Company on 26 February 1702. In a dispatch of 12 February 1704, it was ordered that if Beard shall die, no one will be appointed as President to succeed him. After the departure of John Beard to Madras, Ralph Sheldon assumed the position of Chief of Council, and his appointment was confirmed in a dispatch of 7 February 1706.

On 30 December 1709, Anthony Weldon was appointed as the "President in the Bay, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief for Fort William, in Bengal" for the United East India Company. His appointment was later revoked and was supposed to be succeeded by Sheldon. Since Sheldon had died by the time dispatch arrived in Bengal, John Russell was ordered to succeed as the Governor. By a letter of 8 May 1771, the Court appointed Warren Hastings to be Governor of Bengal.

More information Name, Portrait ...

Name	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Remarks	Appointer
Chief of the factories of Balasore and Hughli					East India Company
James Bridgman		14 December 1650	1653
Powle Waldegrave		1653	1657
Agent of Hughly Agency
George Gawton		27 February 1657	11 September 1658
John Trevisa		11 September 1658	6 February 1661
Chief of Factories in the Bay of Bengal
John Trevisa		6 February 1661	31 January 1662
William Blake		31 January 1662	24 January 1668
Shem Bridges		24 January 1668	7 December 1669
Henry Powell		7 December 1669	?
Walter Clavell		~June 1672	7 August 1677	Died in office
Mathias Vincent		7 September 1677	~July 1682 (position superseded)	Deposed in July 1682
Agent and Governor for the affairs of the East India Company in the Bay of Bengal
Sir William Hedges		24 November 1681	~ August 1684	Deposed in August 1864
Agent and Chief in the Bay of Bengal
John Beard		21 December 1683	28 August 1685	Died in office
Job Charnock		~ April 1686	10 January 1693	Died in office
Francis Ellis		10 January 1693	January 1694
Charles Eyre		25 January 1694	1 February 1699	Left for England in 1699
John Beard		1 February 1699	20 December 1699 (position superseded)	Second to Eyre
President and Governor of Fort William, in Bengal
Sir Charles Eyre		20 December 1699	7 January 1701	Left on account of health issues
John Beard		7 January 1701	7 July 1705	Died in Office
President in the Bay, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief for Fort William, in Bengal
Anthony Weldon		30 December 1709	4 March 1711	Appointment revoked by the Court of Directors Resigned in March 1711
John Rusell		4 March 1711	3 December 1713	Dismissed by the Court
Robert Hedges		3 December 1713	28 December 1717	died in office
Samuel Feake		12 January 1718	17 January 1723	Left for England due to illness
John Deane		17 January 1723	30 January 1726	Returned to England
Henry Frankland		30 January 1726	25 February 1732	Returned to Europe
John Stackhouse		25 February 1732	29 January 1739	Resigned
Thomas Broddyll		29 January 1739	4 Feb 1746	Left for England
John Forster		4 Feb 1746	March 1748	Died in office
William Barewell		18 April 1748	1749	Dismissed by the Court
Adam Dawson		17 July 1749	1752	Dismissed by the Court
William Fycthe		5 July 1752	8 August 1752	Died in Office
Roger Drake		8 August 1752	20 June 1758	Deposed by the Court
Col. Robert Clive		27 June 1758	23 January 1760	Resigned
John Zephaniah Holwell		28 January 1760	27 July 1760	Handed over to Vansittart who was appointed on 23 November 1759 to the office
Henry Vansittart		27 July 1760	26 November 1764	Returned to England
John Spencer		3 December 1764	3 May 1765
The Lord Clive		3 May 1765	20 January 1767	Returned to England
Harry Verelst		29 January 1767	24 December 1769	Retired from the service
John Cartier		26 December 1769	13 April 1772
Warren Hastings		13 April 1772	20 October 1773 (office superseded)	Appointed as the Governor-General of Fort William in Bengal in 1774

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In 1947, the British rule over India came to an end, and India was partitioned into two independent dominions of the Indian Union and Pakistan. Bengal Province was partitioned into the province of West Bengal in India, and province of East Bengal (later East Pakistan) in Pakistan. East Pakistan later become independent in 1971 as Bangladesh.

• List of governors of Bombay
• List of colonial governors and presidents of Madras Presidency
• List of governors of West Bengal
• List of presidents of Bangladesh