LORD CANNING - 1858-1862:
1. Indian Penal Code of 1862 came into force.
2. Indian Council Act 1861 - allowing Indians to become members of the legislative council, was passed by the British Parliament.
3. "White Mutiny" - 1859 - a short and small mutiny by Company troops placing certain demands in enlisting them into the Queen's Army or to be discharged on certain financial benefits.
4. India Act of 1858 passed - It provided for the liquidation of the British East India Co., and transfer of its functions to the British Crown. Lord Palmerston was the Prime Minister of UK to pass this Act.

1. LORD ELGIN I - 1862 - He died suddenly in 1862. Sir Napier and Sir Denison managed the administration till 1864.
2. LORD JOHN LAWRENCE - 1864-1869.
1. Bhutan War of 1865 -The war lasted for five months - ended with the Treaty of Sinchula in 1865 - the Bhutan ruler was defeated and had to cede some territories to the British.
2. High Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras established in 1865.
3. LORD MAYO - 1869-1872:
1. Government administration decentralized.
2. Statistical Survey of India established.
3. Agriculture and Commerce Departments established.
4. State Railway system established.
5. Rajkot college in Kathiawar and Lord Mayo college at Ajmer, Rajasthan established to train Indian Princes politically.
6. He was killed by a convict in the Andamans in 1872.
4. LORD NORTH BROOK - 1872 - 1876:
1. Prince of Wales (Later Edward VII) visited in 1875.
2. Had to resign over the Afghan issue.
5. LORD LYTTON - 1876-1880:
1. Queen Victoria assumed as the Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act of 1876.
2. "Delhi Durbar" meaning "Court of Delhi" a mass assembly at Delhi to commemorate the coronation of the Queen of UK in 1877.
3. The infamous "Vernacular Press Act", curbing journalistic activities of the Indian language press.
4. The Arms Act of 1878 was promulgated.
5. Second Anglo Afghan War of 1878-1880.
6. Famine Commission was appointed under Sir Richard Strachey in 1878. (Bengal experienced severe famines in 1669, 1770 and 1866, which included Orissa and in 1943, killing millions of people).
6. LORD RIPPON - 1881-1884:
1. First Factory Act of 1881 enacted.
2. First census took place in 1881 - at that time the population was 254 millions.
3. Local self government introduced in 1882.
4. Vernacular Press Act repealed.
5. Educational Commission under Sir William Hunter was appointed in 1882.
6. The controversial Ilbert Bill 1883 passed by which, Indian District Magistrates were allowed to try European criminals. It was vehemently . opposed by the Europeans. Indians disappointed over this development decided to agitate unitedly which led to the formation of Indian National Congress in 1885.
7. Famine Code of 1883 enacted.
7. LORD DUFFERIN - 1884 - 1888:
1. III Anglo Burmese War 1885-1887 - Burma attempted to invade and occupy Assam, when British interevened and defeated the Burmese completely. Burma also came under British control.
2. Indian National Congress was founded by Allan Octavian Hume (A.O.Hume) a British civil servant and a political reformer, along with Dadhabhai Naoroji and Dinshaw Edulji Wacha. Lord Cross was the Secretary of State at that time in UK.
8. LORD LANSDOWNE - 1888 -1894:
1. Factories Act of 1891 enacted.
2. Civil Services subdivided into 1. Imperial; 2. Provincial and 3. Subordinate.
3. Indian Councils Act of 1892 passed - which allowed Indians to sit on the Viceroys legislative council and also allowed setting up of provincial legislators.
4. "Durand Commission" appointed and defined the "Durand Line" between British India and Afghanistan (now Afghanistan and Pakistan) demarcated in 1893.
9. LORD ELGIN II 1894-1899:
1. Assassination of two British officials by the Chapekar brothers of Poona,1897.
2. Poona was then affected by the killer disease of Plague and W.C. Rand and Lt.Ayerst were looking after the arrangements.
3. The Chapekar brothers,   viz- Damodar Hari, Balkrishna Hari and Vasudeo Hari,  dissatisfied with the efforts of the British officials in controlling the spread of disease, were involved in the killing of these officers. Later they were hanged. Thus began the extremist activities in India against the British atrocities.
10. LORD CURZON - 1899-1905:
1. Universities Reforms Commission under Sir Thomas Raleigh -1902.
2. Indian Universities Act of 1904 enacted.
3. Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 passed.
4. Agricultural Research Institute at Pune and Delhi established.
5. Partition of Bengal into East and West took place in 1905.
6. Swadeshi movement started.
7. Queen Victoria I died - 22.1.1901.
11. LORD MINTO 1905-1910:
1. Hindu - Muslims differed on the partition of Bengal;
2. Swadesh Movement gained momentum.
3. Indian National Congress Surat Session in 1907. There was a split in the INC into two factions of "Extremists" led Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the "moderates" led by Gopalakrishna Gokhale distinguished by their attitude towards British.
4. "Minto Morley Reforms" culminating in Indian Councils Act 1909, effectively allowing Indians to be elected to the councils unlike earlier method of appointing selected people. The electorate was limited to specific classes of Indian nationals. The act further provided reserved seats for Muslims, that too in excess of their relative population, which was not well received by the majority Hindus - a way of division among Indians, and opposed by INC.
5. Muslim League founded by Aga Khan, the Nawab of Dacca. in 1906.
12. LORD HARDINGE II - 1910-1916:
1. Capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911.
2. Coronation Durbar of King George V and Queen Mary's visit to Delhi in December 1911.
3. Gopala Krishna Gokhale died at Bombay in 1915.
4. Hindu Maha Sabha was founded by Madan Mohan Malaviya and some Punjabi leaders in 1915.
5. Annulment of the partition of Bengal and creation of a Governorship for Bengal, like Bombay and Madras in 1911. Similarly Lieutenant Governor for Bihar and Orissa and Chief Commissioner for Assam.
6. I World War broke out in 1914 (lasted upto November 1918)
13. LORD CHELMSFORD - 1916-1921:
1. Two Home Rule Leagues - one by Bal Gangadhara Tilak and another by Mrs.Annie Beasant in September 1916 formed.
2. Lucknow session of INC in 1916 - the two factions of INC were united by the efforts of Mrs. Annie Beasant.
3. Lucknow Pact - an agreement between the Congress and the Muslim League in 1916, to pressurize the British Government to have a more liberal approach to India and give more authority to Indians to run the country. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was instrumental in organizing this.
4. Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915, and founded the Sabarmati Ashram in 1916.
5. Gandhi started the first Satyagraha movement at Champaran in 1917.
6. Gandhi held another Satyagraha at Ahmedabad in 1918.
7. August Declaration in 1917, by Montague proposing gradual transfer of power to Indians.
8. Government of India Act of 1919 called - the Montague Chelmsford Reforms was passed.
9. Rowlatt Act 1919 - (in March) was passed. The Act provided extraordinary powers to the Government to arrest and imprison suspects without trial.
10. Gandhiji gave a "satyagraha" call against the Rowlatt Act and he was arrested on 8.4.1919.
11. Jalianwala Bagh Massacre - on 13-4-1919 - On 10.4.1919 Dr.Kitchlu and Dr.Satyapal were arrested under Rowlatt Act which raised unrest in Punjab. Protest procession turned violent because of police firing and five Europeans were killed by mob. On 13.4.1919, Baisakhi Day - a public meeting at Jalianwala Bagh was planned, which included women and children. Before the meeting commenced, Genl. Reginald Dyer ordered indiscriminate and heavy firing killing nearly 400 and injuring more than thousand people. Thus he was called the "Butcher of Amritsar".
12. Bal Gangadhara Tilak died on 1.8.1920.
13. Some veteran Congress leaders including S.N.Bannerji resigned from Congress and founded the Indian Liberation Federation in 1918.
14. Khilafat Movement - 1919-1920s. It was a political campaign launched mainly by Muslim in South Asia to influence the British to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of WWI. It was started by Muhammad and Shaukat Ali. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad led the movement supported by Hindus, Gandhiji and the INC.
15. Non Cooperation Movement - 1920 - Started by Gandhiji soon supported by Ali brothers joined by other people from all walks of life.
16. Nagpur Session of the Congress held in 1920 - brought in changes in the constitution of the Congress.
17. Women's University at Poona was founded in 1916.
18. Sir S.P.Sinha was appointed as the first Indian Lieutenant Governor of Bihar. (Incidentally he was the Second Indian to become a Member of Parliament of the British Parliament, the first was Dadhabhai Naoroji).
14. LORD READING - 1921-1926:
1. Chauri Chaura incident - 5.2.1922 - in which a mob of people at Chauri Chaura a village near Gorakhpur, UP, clashed with the police, burnt the police station and killed 22 policemen. Gandhiji annoyed with the attitude of the people, withdrew the non-cooperation movement and the civil disobedience movement.
2. This action of Gandhiji forced Motilal Nehru, Chitta Ranjan Das (CR Das) N.C.Kelker to start Swaraj party named as "Congress Khilafat Swarajya Party" from 1.1.1923. The idea was to participate in elections. After the death of CR Das in 1925, the movement broke down in 1925.
3. RSS - Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha founded by K.B.Hedgewar at Nagpur in 1925.
4. Rowlatt Act repealed.
5. Simultaneous Indian Civil Service Examination at England and India introduced from 1923.
6. Indianisation of Officers' cadre in Indian Army began.
7. Communist Party of India founded in India on 26th December 1925.
15. LORD IRWIN - 1926-1931:
1. Known popularly as "Christian Viceroy".
2. Simon Commission - 1927 - appointed. It was a commission that consisted of seven British officers, to study constitutional reforms. As it did not contain any Indian in it, the commission was boycotted. On 30.10.1928 on the arrival of the Commission there was a huge protest at Lahore, led by Lala Lajpat Rai. The British resorted to lathicharges on the protestors and severely injured Lala Lajpat Rai. He succumbed to the injuries on 17th November 1928, at Lahore.
3. As a revenge, the British police official Saunders was killed by Bhagat Singh and his associates in December 1928.
4. Appointment of the Harcourt Butler Indian States Commission in November 1927, to recommend measures for the establishment of better relations between the Indian States and the Central Government, and the convening of the All India States' Peoples' Conference in December 1927.
5. Meeting of the I All India Youth Congree in December 1928.
6. A committee under Moti Lal Nehru was appointed to prepare the Constitution of India; Nehru submitted his report in 1928. Muslim League and Hindu Maha Sabha rejected the report.
7. "Deepavali Declaration" by Lord Irwin in 1928 that India would be granted Dominion status in due course.
8. Lahore session of Congress in December 1929 - "Poorna Swaraj" that is, "complete independence" resolution was adopted on 26.1.1930 and this day was fixed as the Independence Day and declared so. Tricolour flag was unfurled on 31.12.1930.
9. Civil Disobedience movement and Dandi March on 12.3.1930 took place. Gandhi marched from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi in Gujarat, a small village with 79 followers to break the Salt Law, with Civil Disobedience movement combined.
10.I Round Table conference at London - Congress boycotted.
11.Gandhi -Lord Irwin Pact 1931 - a political agreement entered on 5.3.1931 laying down certain action points for both side like the Indians withdrawing the Civil Disobedience movement, taking part in Round Table conferences and the British on the other hand to withdraw obstructive ordinances, withdrawal of prosecutions on minor offences, release of prisoners who took part in disobedience movement and removal of tax on salt and other restrictions.
12.Based on this, Gandhiji withdrew civil disobedience movement.
16.LORD WELLINGTON - 1931 - 1936:
1. II Round Table Conference in September 1931 - Gandhi attended the conference which was a failure - Gandhi returns to Delhi in December 1931 and resumes civil disobedience movement. Gandhi was imprisoned. The movement was suspended in May 1934.
2. III Round Table Conference in London in 1932 - without any Indian participation as most leaders were in jail.
3. Communal Award - August 1932 - Announced by Ramsay Mc Donald British PM; a policy of provisions for representations for different communities - a kind of divide and rule policy of the British.
4. The Award was a controversial one, in that, it granted separate electorate to minority communities including Muslims, Sikhs and Dalit. While Gandhiji opposed it, Dr.Ambedkar supported it. Gandhiji's fast unto death in Yeravada prison which ended by the Poona pact between the both in September 1932. According to the pact, seprate electorate for Dalits was abandoned and instead decided for a joint electorate.
5. Government of India Act 1935 enacted.
6. Burma (now Myanmar) separated from India in 1935.
7. Acharya Narendra Dev and Jai Prakash Narayan founded Congress Socialist Party in 1934.
8. All India Kisan Sabha founded in 1936.
17. LORD LINLITHGOW - 1936 -1943:
1. 1937 - Congress Ministries founded/formed in majority of the provinces.
2. 1939 - NSC Bose resigned from the Presidentship and primary membership of the Congress Party.
3. Forward Bloc was founded by NSC Bose and his followers.
4. Resignation of all Congress Ministries in 1939 due to the outbreak of WWII.
5. Muslim League the resignation of the Ministries as "Deliverance Day".
6. Muslim League, in its Lahore session on 23.3.1940 passed a resolution demanding a separate state for Muslims.
7. It was at this session that Muhammad Ali Jinnah proposed the two nation theory.
8. August 1940 offer by Lord Linlithgow - the offer was rejected by the Congress and Gandhi started individual satyagraha.
9. NSC Bose escaped from India in 1941.
10.NSC Bose founded Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) - 1942 at Singapore comprising of large number of prisoners of wars and volunteers from Burma with the assistance of the Japanese to fight against the British. It was active from 1942-1945 and was actively involved in a few wars in Burma (more about it later)
11.Cripps Mission - 1942 - headed by Stanford Cripps offered Dominion status for India. Rejected by the Congress and the mission was a failure.
12.Congress Session - 8.8.1942 - Bombay - "Quit India" resolution passed. "Do or Die" slogan launched by Gandhiji - Arrest of all Congress leaders. August Revolution or Revolt 1942 began.
18. LORD WAVELL - 1943-1947:
1. C.Rajagopalachari proposed his CR formula 1944 suggesting a common defence and communication system for both nations - Pakistan and India.
2. CR formula rejected by Muslim League and some Congressmen too. Gandhi and Jinnah talks on this also failed.
3. Wavell Plan and the Shimla conference 1945 - a failure.
4. Indian National Army trials and Naval Mutiny of 1946. The Naval Mutiny was started by the Royal Indian Navy ratings. It was started as a general strike against working conditions and racism, turned out to be a nationwide strike receiving good support. However, it failed to get the necessary political support and thus failed. Some of the leaders of this movements were also tried and punished later.
5. Cabinet Mission 1946 - It consisted of three members - Lord Lawrence, Sir Stanford Cripps and A.V.Alexander- envisaging the establishment of a Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution as well as an Interim Government. The plan ws accepted by the Congress and the Muslim League in 1946.
6. Interim Government formed in September 1946.
7. Muslim League launched "Direct Action Day" on 17.8.1946 in demand of a separate state for Muslims. Joined interim government in October 1946 but abstained from Constituent Assembly.
19. LORD MOUNTBATTEN - March to August 1947.
1. The last viceroy of India.
2. Mountbatten Plan of 1947 (3.6.1947) - As per his plan, partition of India, into India and Pakistan (which included then the Bangladesh as East Pakistan) decided. Sir Radcliffe demarcated the borders.
3. Independence to India was decided by the British Parliament on 18.7.1947 with Clement Atlee as the PM then. Independence was granted on 15th August 1947, with C. Rajagopalachari as the Governor General and Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister.

Names of only those who had a fairly longer tenure and with some mentionable events during their tenure are mentioned here, although there were a few more in the order.