List of Kolkata Presidencians

According to the college directory of the University Grants Commission (India) there are eleven colleges that have the word "Presidency College" in their titles. Among them, four are primarily referred to as Presidency College only. The following list only contains the names of some eminent alumni of Presidency College, Kolkata. A former or current student, who had been admitted into the college, but did or did not complete the course is called a 'Presidencian'. Names of former students of Hindu College, which was its predecessor from 1817–1855, are also included in this list. Names of former distinguished faculty members of the college are also mentioned in this list.

Social Reform

• Durga Mohan Das, Leader of the Brahmo Samaj
• Mahendranath Gupta, Author of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
• Raja Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, Leader of the Young Bengal movement; Taluqdar of Shankarpore in the United Provinces
• Keshab Chandra Sen, Brahmo Reformer; founder of the Nababidhan Samaj
• Swami Vivekananda, Founder of Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math (for one year)

Politics

• Col. H.H. Maharaja Sir Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, formerly Maharaja of Coochbehar
• Sir Surendranath Banerjea, 11th President of the Indian National Congress
• Bijay Kumar Basu, formerly Member of the Council of States, (1931)
• Jyoti Basu, formerly Chief Minister of West Bengal (1977–2000)
• Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Chief Minister of West Bengal (2001–)
• Malini Bhattacharya, Member, Lok Sabha, India
• Biman Bose, present Chairman of the Left Front in Bengal
• Subhash Chandra Bose, 53rd President of the Indian National Congress and founder of the Forward Bloc (later expelled)
• Bhupendra Nath Bose, Under Secretary in the Council for the Secretary of State for India
• Krishna Bose, Member, Lok Sabha, India
• Sarat Chandra Bose, formerly Member, Works, Mines and Power, Government of India, (1946)
• Somnath Chatterjee, formerly Speaker of the Lok Sabha, India, (2004–)
• Pratap Chandra Chunder, formerly Minister, Education and Social Welfare Government of India, (1977–1980)
• Asim Dasgupta, present Minister, Finance, Government of West Bengal
• Raja Narasingha Malla Ugal Sanda Deb, formerly Member of Parliament (1957–1962); Raja of Jhargram, Bengal
• HH Maharaja Bir Pratap Singh Deo, Maharaja of Sonepur, Orissa
• Ullaskar Dutta, Member of Jugantar Party
• Abdul Gafur, first Muslim Sheriff of Bengal
• Atulkrishna Ghosh, formerly Member of the Anushilan Samiti
• Sir Jnan Chandra Ghosh, Kt., formerly Member-in-Charge of Education, Health and Scientific Research, Planning Commission, India, (1955)
• Sir Rashbehari Ghosh, Kt., formerly Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council, (1891–94; renominated 1906)
• Nolini Kanta Gupta, Participated in the Alipore Bomb case
• A.K. Fazlul Huq, Prime Minister of Bengal, (1939–1943)
• Humayun Kabir, formerly Cabinet Minister, Education, Government of India, (1958–1967)
• Pandit Yamuna Karjee, formerly Member of the Bihar and Orissa Assembly, (1937–1942)
• Bishnu Ram Medhi, formerly Chief Minister of Assam (1950–1957)
• Shyamaprasad Mookerjee, formerly Member, Industry and Supply, Government of India, (1946–1950)
• Hirendranath Mukherjee, formerly Member of the Lok Sabha, India, (1952–1977)
• Maharaja Bahadur Sir Krishna Narendra, Additional Member, Viceroy's Executive Council; also a scion of the Sovabazar Raj family, Bengal
• Dr. Rajendra Prasad, First President of India
• Sir Abdur Rahim, formerly Member, Bengal Executive Council (Administration of Justice, Jail and other Allied Subjects), 1921–1925, later President of the Central Legislative Assembly
• Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray, formerly Chief Minister of West Bengal (1948–1962)
• Siddhartha Shankar Ray, formerly Chief Minister of West Bengal (1972–1977)
• Amiya Kumar Raychaudhuri, Congressmen; also Zamindar of Kirtipasha in Bengal
• Sudarshan Raychaudhuri, present Minister, Higher Education, Government of West Bengal
• Professor Saugata Roy, present Minister of State for Urban Development, Government of India
• Maharajah Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhury, Kt., formerly Minister, Local Self Government, Government of Bengal; also the Maharaja of Santosh, Bengal
• Sir Saiyid Mohammed Saadullah, formerly Prime Minister of Assam (1937–1938, 1939–1942)
• Ashoke Kumar Sen, formerly Cabinet Minister, Law and Justice, Government of India
• Mohit Sen, Eminent member of the Communist Party of India
• Anugrah Narayan Sinha, First Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar (1946–1957)
• Lord Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, First Indian Governor of Bihar and Orissa (1920–1921)
• Atis Sinha, formerly Minister of State for Public Undertaking, Cottage and Small Scale Industries, Government of West Bengal, (1972–1977); also Zamindar of Kandi, Bengal
• Bimal Sinha, formerly Minisiter for Land and Land Revenue, Government of West Bengal, (1957–62); also Zamindar of Kandi, Bengal
• Sir Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh, formerly Governor of Uttar Pradesh
• Lal Ram Bahadur Singh, Kumar of Dhaurpur, Madhya Pradesh
• Lal Shiv Bahadur Singh, Kumar of Dhaurpur, Madhya Pradesh

Judiciary

• The Rt Hon. Syed Ameer Ali, First Indian Law Lord of the Privy Council
• Gooroodas Banerjee, Judge of the Calcutta High Court
• Rai Bahadur Sarat Chandra Banerjee, President of the Calcutta Improvement Tribunal, (1914–30)
• Phani Bhushan Chakrabarty, First Permanent Indian Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court
• Rai Bahadur Hara Chandra Ghosh, First Bengali judge of the Small Causes Court in Calcutta
• Pratul Chandra Chatterjee, Judge, Chief Court, Punjab
• Ashutosh Chaudhuri, Barr., Judge of the Calcutta High Court
• Sir Chandra Madhav Ghosh, Senior Puisne Judge (1885–1906) and Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court (1906)
• Sir Charu Chandra Ghosh, Judge, Calcutta High Court, (1919–34) and Temporary Member of the Governor's Executive Council, Bengal (February-April 1934)
• Monomohun Ghose, First practising Indian Barrister of the Calcutta High Court
• Sir Sarat Kumar Ghosh, ICS, formerly Chief Justice of Rajasthan
• Altmas Kabir, Judge of the Supreme Court of India
• Fazlul Karim, first Chairman of Cox's Bazar
• Anindya Mitra, Barr., Senior Advocate of the Calcutta High Court
• Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee, Judge of the Calcutta High Court
• Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India
• Saktinath Mukherjee, Senior Advocate of the Calcutta High Court
• Chittatosh Mookerjee, formerly Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court
• Ramaprasad Mookerjee, formerly Judge of the Calcutta High Court
• Radhabinod Pal, Judge of the Calcutta High Court
• Sudhamoy Pramanick, Advocate at the Sealdah Court, Lifetime Secretary of the 'Tili Samaj'
• Brajkishore Prasad, Eminent lawyer; also Zamindar of Shrinagar in Bihar
• Ajit Nath Roy, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India
• Dipak Sen, Chief Justice of Patna High Court
• Gnanendramohan Tagore, First Asian Barrister

Government

• Amalendu Banerjee, IAS, formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab
• Ashok Banerjee, IAS, formerly Secretary to the President of India
• Alapan Bandopadhyay, IAS, Chief Municipal Commissioner of Calcutta
• Debabrata Bandopadhyay, IAS, formerly Agriculture Secretary of India
• Anandaram Barooah, ICS, formerly District Magistrate and Collector of Noakhali in Bengal; first Assamese and sixth Indian ICS officer
• Ashok Chatterjee, IAS, formerly Member, Board of Revenue of West Bengal
• Sir Atul Chandra Chatterjee, ICS, formerly Indian High Commissioner to the UK
• Champak Chatterjee, IAS, formerly Secretary, Department of Education, Government of India
• Pares Chandra Datta, formerly Director, Public Health, Government of Bengal
• Ranajit Datta, formerly Chairman and Managing Director, Braithwaite, Burn and Jessop Limited
• Basanta Kumar De, formerly Commercial Traffic Manager, Bengal Nagpur Railway
• Sib Chandra Deb, Deputy Collector in Bengal
• Gurusaday Dutt, ICS, fomerly Secretary, Local Self Government and Public Health, Government of Bengal
• Romesh Dutt, ICS, formerly Commissioner of Orissa; also Dewan of Baroda
• Behari Lal Gupta, ICS, formerly Dewan of Baroda
• Jnanendranath Gupta, ICS, formerly Member, Board of Revenue
• Azizul Huque, formerly Indian High Commissioner to Great Britain
• Ashok Mitra, ICS, formerly Secretary to the President of India
• Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, IES, ADPI for Mohammedan Education, Bengal
• Khan Bahadur Abdur Rahman Khan, BES, ADPI of Bengal
• Khan Bahadur Badiur Rahman, BES, ADPI for Mohammedan Education, Bengal
• Hara Shankar Ray, formerly Zamindar (and Honourary Magistrate) of Teota, Bengal
• Prasad Ranjan Ray, IAS, formerly Secretary, Department of Home Affairs, Government of West Bengal
• Jawhar Sircar, IAS, present Culture Secretary of India
• Sukumar Sen, ICS, formerly Chief Election Commissioner of India
• Nitish Sengupta, IAS, formerly Secretary, Department of Revenue, Government of India
• Rathindra Nath Sengupta, IAS, formerly Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal
• Himachal Som, IFS, formerly Indian Ambassador to Italy
• Satyendranath Tagore, ICS, formerly District Judge in Gujarat

Armed forces

• Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee - First Indian Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force

Industry

• Rama Prasad Goenka, Chairman Emeritus of the RPG Group
• Ramgopal Ghosh, Wealthy entrepreneur who founded his own firm R.G.Ghosh and Co.
• Maharajadhiraja Sir Uday Chand Mahtab, Entrepreneur; also Maharaja of Burdwan, Bengal
• Sir Rajen Mookerjee, Founder of the Indian Iron and Steel Company at Burnpur
• Raja Subodh Chandra Mullick, Founder of Life of Asia Insurance Company
• Prafulla Chandra Roy, Founder of Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals
• Aurobindo Ray, formerly Chairman of James Warren.
• Rahul Sen, formerly Managing Director of Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. Ltd.

Medicine

• Kumud Shankar Ray, Founder of the first specialised Tuberculosis hospital (K.S. Roy TB Hospital) in India; also a Zamindar of Teota, Bengal
• Mahendralal Sarkar, Founder of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Sciences, Calcutta

Engineering

• Fazlur Rahman Khan, Structural Engineer, designed Chicago's 100-story John Hancock Center and 110-story Sears Tower.

Academics

Sciences

Chemistry

• Amar Bhaduri, formerly Director, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Calcutta
• Upendranath Brahmachari, First to synthesise urea stibamine
• Professor Amal Paul, formerly in the Department of Glass Technology, Sheffield University, UK
• Dr. Tushar Kanti Chakraborty, Director, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow

Mathematics

• Amiya Charan Banerjee, formerly Vice Chancellor of Allahabad University
• Radhanath Sikdar, First to calculate the height of Mount Everest
• Azizul Haque, contributed to the mathematical formula for Henry Classification System of fingerprinting still widely used in the world

Physics

• Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, Inventor of wireless communications, crescograph
• Satyendranath Bose, Discovered Bose-Einstein statistics along with Albert Einstein; Bosons
• Ashesh Prasad Mitra, formerly Director, Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research, Delhi
• Sisir Kumar Mitra, An crater on the moon is named after him
• Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri, Physicist, known for Raychaudhuri's equation in General Theory of Relativity
• Meghnad Saha, Discovered the Saha ionization equation
• Ashoke Sen, Physicist; known for his string theory
• Pradeep Kumar Sengupta, Senior Scientist, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Calcutta
• Bikash Sinha, formerly Director, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Calcutta

Psychology

• P. K. Roy, First Indian Principal of Presidency College, Calcutta

Statistics

• Malay Ghosh, Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Florida
• Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Founder-Director, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta
• Subodh Chandra Mahalanobis, Professor and Head of Department of Statistics, Presidency College, Calcutta

Zoology

• Sudhansu Kumar Ghosal, Faculty, McGill University, Canada
• Shivatosh Mookerjee, Professor and Dean of the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Nirmal Kumar Sarkar, Convenor, Molbio & Genetics, Presidency College, Kolkata.

Social Sciences

Anthropology

• Surajit Chandra Sinha, formerly Upacharya of Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan; also the Maharajkumar of Susanga, Bengal

Economics

• Amiya Bagchi, First-Director, Institute of Development Studies, Calcutta
• Abhijit Banerjee, Ford Foundation Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Dipak Banerjee, formerly Professor and Head of Department of Economics, Presidency College, Kolkata
• Pranab Bardhan, Professor at University of California at Berkeley
• Amit Bhaduri, Emeritus-Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Amitava Bose, Professor of Economics (and former Director), Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
• Sanjit Bose, Professor of Economics, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta
• Dipankar Chakravarti, Professor and Vice Dean, The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University, USA
• Sukhomoy Chakroborty, Member, Planning Commission of India, 1971-7
• Kalyan Chatterjee, Economist
• Sudip Chaudhuri, Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
• Bhabotosh Dutta, formerly Finance Secretary of West Bengal
• Bibek Debroy, formerly Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, New Delhi
• Subhasis Gangopadhyay, IDF
• Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics
• Bimal Jalan, formerly Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, (2000-4)
• Ashok Lahiri, Advisor to Finance Minister of India
• Mukul Majumdar, Professor of Economics, Cornell University, USA
• Tapas Majumdar, formerly Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Sugata Marjit, Director, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
• Tapan Mitra, Professor of Economics, Cornell University, USA
• Dilip Mukherjee, Faculty at Boston University, USA
• Radhakamal Mukerjee, formerly Vice-Chancellor of University of Lucknow
• Mihir Rakshit, Professor, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
• Debraj Ray, Julius Silver Professor of Economics, New York University
• Abhirup Sarkar, Professor, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta
• Amartya Sen, - formerly Master, Trinity College, Cambridge, 1998–2004; winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, 1998
• Anindya Sen, Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
• Anup Kumar Sinha, Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

History

• A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed, formerly Professor of History, Dhaka University
• Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, Discoverer of Mohenjodaro, the principal site of the Harappa Culture
• Ajay Chandra Banerjee, formerly Professor of History, Presidency College, Calcutta
• Anil Chandra Banerjee, formerly Professor of History, University of Calcutta
• Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi
• Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of History, Harvard University, USA
• Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lawrence A. Kimpton Professor of South Asian History, University of Chicago
• Hiren Chakrabarty, formerly Curator, Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta
• Kunal Chakravarty, Professor of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Ranabir Chakraborty. Professor Of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Suranjan Das, Vice Chancellor, University of Calcutta
• Ashin Dasgupta, formerly Upacharya, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan
• Atis Dasgupta, Director, West Bengal State Archives, Calcutta
• Barun De, Chairman, West Bengal Heritage Commission, Calcutta
• Partha Sarathi Gupta, formerly Professor of History, University of Delhi
• Romesh Chandra Majumdar, formerly Vice Chancellor, University of Dacca
• Bratin Mukherjee, formerly Professor of Ancient History, University of Calcutta
• Somendra Chandra Nandy, Author of The Life and Times of Cantoo Baboo (Krishna Kanta Nandy), the Banyan of Warren Hastings; also Zamindar of Cossimbazar, Bengal
• Bharati Ray, Vice President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Government of India
• Rajat Kanta Ray, Upacharya, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan
• Kumkum Roy, Professor of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Hemchandra Raychaudhuri, formerly Charmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta
• Tapan Raychaudhuri, formerly Ad Hominem Professor of Indian History and Civilisation and Emeritus Fellow, St. Antony's College, Oxford
• Sir Jadunath Sarkar, formerly Vice Chancellor, University of Calcutta
• Sipra Sarkar, formerly Professor of History, Jadavpur University, Calcutta
• Sumit Sarkar, formerly Professor of History, University of Delhi
• Susobhan Chandra Sarkar, formerly Professor and Head of Department of History, Presidency College, Calcutta
• Tanika Sarkar, Professor of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Tapati Guha Thakurta, Professor of History, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
• Amalesh Tripathy, formerly Ashutosh Professor of History, University of Calcutta
• Kuruvilla Zachariah, Professor and Head of Department of History, Presidency College, Calcutta

Political Science

• Nirmal Bhattacharya, Member of Bidhan Parishad (Upper House of the Legislative Assembly), West Bengal
• Partha Chatterjee, formerly Director of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
• Sudipta Kaviraj, Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science, Columbia University, New York

Languages

Bengali

• Muhammad Shahidullah, Writer and linguist
• Madan Mohan Tarkalankar, Renowned textbook writer

English

• Ahmed Ali, British Council Visiting Professor of English, The National Central University, Nanking
• Jasodhara Bagchi, formerly Chairperson, West Bengal Women's Commission, Calcutta
• Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, University Professor, Columbia University, New York
• Sukanta Chaudhuri, Professor of English, Jadavpur University, Calcutta
• Supriya Chaudhuri, Professor of English, Jadavpur University, Calcutta
• Ashim Datta, formerly Professor of English, Jadavpur University; one of the first Indian Rhodes Scholars
• Nabaneeta Dev Sen, formerly Professor of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, Calcutta
• Peary Charan Sarkar, formerly Headmaster, Hare School, Calcutta
• Tarak Nath Sen, formerly Professor of English, Presidency College, Calcutta

Sanskrit

• Kshetresa Chandra Chattopadhyaya, formerly Professor of Sanskrit at Allahabad University
• Bhudev Mukhopadhyay, CIE, formerly Director of Public Instructions
• Sir Deva Prasad Sarbadhikari, CIE, CBE, formerly Vice Chancellor, University of Calcutta
• Haraprasad Shastri, formerly Principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta

Journalists

• M. J. Akbar, Editor of The Asian Age
• Krishna Mohan Banerjee, Publisher of Inquirer
• Suman Chattopadhyay,
• Hiranmoy Karlekar, Editor of Pioneer
• Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Opinions Editor, The Telegraph
• Rasik Krishna Mallick, Editor of Jnananwesan
• Pritish Nandy, Editor, Illustrated Weekly of India
• Akshay Chandra Sarkar, Editor, Sadharani
• Avik Sarkar, Editor-in-Chief, The Telegraph
• Udayan Mukherjee, Managing Editor, CNBC India

Poets and novelists and non-fiction writers

• Manik Bandopadhyay, Novelist
• Rajnarayan Basu, Writer and prominent Brahmo
• Rajsekhar Basu, Novelist
• Samit Basu, Novelist
• Sasthi Brata, Writer
• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Poet and Novelist
• Shakti Chattopadhyay, poet
• Pramatha Chaudhuri, Editor of Sabuj Patra
• Jibanananda Das, Poet
• Henry Louis Vivan Derozio, Poet
• Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Poet
• Shankha Ghosh, Poet
• Atul Chandra Gupta, Author of Shiksa O Sabhyata (1927), Itihaser Mukti (1957), etc.
• Shahidullah Kaiser, Winner of Bangla Academy Award
• Acharya Kuber Nath Rai, Eminent writer of Hindi Literature
• Sukumar Ray, Poet and Humourist
• Upendrakishore Raychaudhuri, Writer
• Jyotirindranath Tagore, Poet and Novelist
• Rabindranath Tagore, Winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Dwijendralal Ray, Poet, Playwright and Musician

Artists and musicians

• Brajendra Narayan Singh Deo, Dancer; also Zamindar of Jarasingha, Orissa
• Devajyoti Ray, Artist
• Dilipkumar Roy, Singer
• Birendrakishore Raychaudhuri, First-Dean, Faculty of Music, Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta; also the Kumar of Gouripore in Mymensingh, Bengal
• Atulprasad Sen, Singer
• Maharaja Bhupendra Chandra Sinha, Artist; also Maharaja of Susanga in Mymensingh, Bengal
• Dwijendranath Tagore, Musician

Filmmakers, theatre personalities and actors

• Pramathesh Barua, Actor and Director
• Bratya Basu, Dramatist
• Chabi Biswas, Actor
• Ashok Kumar, Winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1988)
• Dinabandhu Mitra, Author of Nildarpan
• Pritam, Bollywood music director
• Satyajit Ray, Winner of the Oscar Award for Lifetime Achievement (1992)
• Aparna Sen, Actress
• Subrata Sen, Filmamaker, author
• Bibhas Chakraborty, Theatre Practitioner

Sportspersons

• Vece Paes, Member of the Bronze medal winning Indian Hockey team at the Munich Olympics, (1972)
• Sanjay Ray, Member of the Assam Ranji Trophy cricket team

Faculty Members

• Syed Ameer Ali, Judge of the High Court of Calcutta; and also Member, Council of the Governor General of India (Lecturer in Islamic Law)
• Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, Eminent physicist (Professor of Physics)
• Rabindra Kumar Das Gupta, Director, National Library, Calcutta (Offtg. Professor of English)
• Bishnu Dey, Eminent poet; winner of Sahitya Academy Award and Rashtriya Jnanpith Award
• David Lester Richardson, Principal of Hindu College, Calcutta
• Kiran Shankar Roy, Home Minister of West Bengal, 1948–1949; also Zamindar of Teota, Bengal
• Prafulla Chandra Roy, Founder of Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works (Assistant Professor of Chemistry)