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Warren Hastings

Warren Hastings
Portrait by Tilly Kettle
Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William
In office
20 October 1773 – 8 February 1785[1]
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded bySir John Macpherson, Bt
As acting Governor-General
Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal)
In office
28 April 1772 – 20 October 1773
Preceded byJohn Cartier
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born(1732-12-06)6 December 1732
Churchill, Oxfordshire
Died22 August 1818(1818-08-22) (aged 85)
Daylesford, Gloucestershire
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)
Mary Buchanan
(m. 1756; died 1759)

(m. 1777)
ResidenceDaylesford House
Alma materWestminster School
Signature

Warren Hastings FRS (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-general of Bengal in 1772–1785. He and Robert Clive are credited with laying the foundation of the British Empire in India.[2][3] He was an energetic organizer and reformer. In 1779–1784 he led forces of the East India Company against a coalition of native states and the French. In the end, the well-organized British side held its own, while France lost influence in India. In 1787, he was accused of corruption and impeached, but he was eventually acquitted in 1795 after a long trial. He was made a privy councillor in 1814.

  1. ^ Bengal Public Consultations, 12 February 1785, No. 2. Letter from Warren Hastings, 8 February, formally declaring resignation of the office of Governor General.
  2. ^ "Warren Hastings". BBC. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Warren Hastings, maker of British India". Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society. 22 (3): 476–480. 1935. doi:10.1080/03068373508725383.

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