This is a timeline list of major events in the history of
Coimbatore, a major city in the Indian state of
Tamil Nadu.
Perur Patteswarar temple is one of the oldest temples in Coimbatore. Records indicate that the mandapam alone was built in the 6th century.The Rajakesari Peruvazhi is an ancient Chola highway used for
Roman and early European trade. The 10th century inscription mentions repairs made by the Chola king.Marudhamalai temple is constructed in the 12th century.Tipu Sultan resided in Coimbatore occasionally. He built a provincial palace and the
Kottaimedu mosque in the second half of the 18th century.CSI Immanuel Church, one of the oldest churches in Coimbatore, established in 1830.Clock tower installed in memory of A.T. Thiruvenkataswamy Mudaliar in 1877.Town Hall launched in 1892.Saidapet Agricultural School moved to Coimbatore in 1906, becomes Madras Agricultural College and later
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in 1971.Lakshmi Mills, one of the earliest spinning mills, is inaugurated in 1910 by
G. Kuppuswami Naidu.Sugarcane Breeding Institute was established in 1912. The sugarcane varieties developed at Coimbatore go on to support sugarcane industries of 22 countries globally by the 1960s.Central Studios was started in 1935 by B. Rangaswamy Naidu,
Samikannu Vincent, and others. US planes from U.S.
Lend-Leases are put into commission at HMS Vairi. During WW2 Coimbatore had two British bases: HMS Garuda (at Peelamedu) and HMS Vairi (Sulur)Many
Tamil Cinema greats had association with the early Coimbatore film industry.
MGR's hit movie
Malaikkallan was shot at
Pakshiraja Studios in 1954.
Sivaji Ganesan's famous film
Maragatham was shot in 1959.Stamp release at
World Classical Tamil Conference 2010.Coimbatore airport becomes an International Airport in 2012 after Cabinet approval.Tejas Squadron (The Flying Daggers) shifts base from Bengaluru to
Sulur Air Force Station in Jul, 2018.
Early history
BCE
~450 BCE - Ancient rock art prevalent in Kovanur,
Perianaickenpalayam taluk. Kovanur is 30 km northwest of Coimbatore.
1st to 4th century
The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during Sangam period. It served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the west coast and Tamil Nadu.
The Kosar tribe mentioned in the second century AD Tamil epic Silappathikaram and other poems in Sangam literature is associated with the Coimbatore region.
The region was located along an ancient Roman trade route that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu.
6th century
Perur Pateeswarar Temple mandapam was built by
Pallava king Narasinga Potharanya II (Rajasimha Varman). (The mandapam has fourteen huge pillars carved intricately with images of the deities.)[1]
The medieval Cholas conquered
Kongu Nadu in the 10th century.
`Rajakesari Perivazhi` (highways) running through the region were reinforced by
Chola King Adhitan. As per inscriptions in both Tamil &
Vattezhuthu (verse) found in Sundakkamuthur record this. (The peruvazhi connected west and east coasts. It also supported trade between
Cholas and the
Romans over time.)[2]
Much of Tamil Nadu came under the rule of the
Vijayanagara Empire by the 15th century.
16th century
1511:
Vyasaraja the
Madhva saint and scholar visits Coimbatore and its neighbourhood. The saint installed the Hanuman idol on R. G. Street.[4](The saint also performed his Chaturmasya Vratam here.)
In the 1550s, the
Madurai Nayaks, who were the military chiefs of the Vijaynagara Empire, took charge of the region.
17th century
Madurai Nayaks established their territory as an independent kingdom after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 17th century. (They introduced the
Palayakkarar system by which the Kongu Nadu region was divided into 24 Palayams.)
1790: Records of Tipu's provincial palace in Coimbatore. As per Francis Skelly's despatch to
Major General Charles Stuart on 1 August 1790 the existence of an "excellent" palace is recorded. (The place, missing in modern times, had "large and lofty" chambers, and walls covered with polished
chunam that looked like marble. The palace also had valuable
ivory and
sandal wood objects.)[6]
1790: British East India company takes Coimbatore. The company led by General
William Medows take control of Coimbatore (which was evacuated by Tipu) and a significant part of Coimbatore district. (Tipu pushes back and gains territory but the company retains control of Coimbatore).[5]
1791: Coimbatore fort destroyed: Tipu's Armies led by Qamar ud-Din defeated the British East India company in the
Siege of Coimbatore. (The fort was built during Vijayanagar times. Kottaimedu area of Coimbatore was the location of the erstwhile fort).
1801: The Coimbatore region played a prominent role in the Second Poligar War (1801) when it was under the area of operations of
Dheeran Chinnamalai.
1804: Coimbatore was made a
district and as the district headquarters on 24 November. (The Coimbatore district then included the current districts of
Nilgiris,
Tirupur,
Erode, and parts of
Kerala.)[7]
1860: St. Michael's Higher Secondary School was established.
1862:
Podanur Railway junction built. It is the oldest in the entire southern region. (Even Chennai Central Junction was built nine years after Podanur. Many freedom fighters have visited.)[9]
1865:
Coimbatore Prison is partially occupied and operations begin while construction continues.[11]
1866: Municipality of Coimbatore was established in 1866 according to the Town Improvements Act of 1865[12] with
Rober Stanes, a renowned industrialist as its first Chairman.[13](The early days of the municipality were difficult as it had to tackle plague epidemics and earthquakes.)[12]
1867: The first group of students appeared for the SSLC Examinations from Coimbatore.
1867: St. Michael's cathedral consecrated. (8 April)
1872: CSI All Souls Church consecrated on 27 January 1872. It cost Rs 20,000 and took 6 years to build.[14]
1877: Clock tower installed at Town Hall in memory of A.T. Thiruvenkataswamy Mudaliar.[15]
1880: Coimbatore Kalanidhi, one of the earliest Tamil newspapers was started by
S. P. Narasimhalu Naidu. (The newspaper was a contemporary of the 'Salem Desabhimani' (1880) and predates the '
Swadesamitran' (1982)).[16]
1883: The first financial institution/bank Coimbatore Janopakara Nidhi Limited setup by C. Sadasivam Mudaliar (22 June 1883). (A corpus of One lakh rupees, 2,000 shares of Rs. 50 each, was deployed at inauguration.)[17]
1892:
Victoria Town Hall built in the City with contributions from the Municipality and citizens. (
S. P. Narasimhalu Naidu contributed Rs. 1,000 and helped raise funds from the public for the construction of the building.)[18]
20th century
1900:
Nallepilly earthquake impacts Coimbatore on 8 February 1900. 6 on Reichter scale. (Clock tower and Central jail had damages.[19] The eastern bell tower of St. Michael's Cathedral also collapsed.[20])
1904: Plague deaths in Coimbatore total 1122 in the year.
1908:
V. O. Chidambaram Pillai jailed at Coimbatore Central Prison for two years. He was put to hard labour and yolked to an oil press earning him the name Chekkiluththa Chemmal.[22]
1909: Plague again in Coimbatore.[21] 1071 people die from plague.
1921:
C.S. Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar becomes Chairman of the Coimbatore Municipality for 14 years from 1921. (DB road (Divan Bahadur) is later named after him.
R. S. Puram is also named after him.)[26]
1921: Mapilla
Wagon tragedy at
Podanur. 67 dead bodies of protesters tumbled out of a goods wagon in a train coming from Malabar region. The victims had suffocated in the wagon and they were those arrested by the Malabar police earlier during the violence. (19 November 1921)[27]
1925:
Mahatma Gandhi visits Coimbatore, arrives at Podanur Junction on 19 March 1925.[9]
1928: Moses Gnanabaranam Eye Hospital instituted. Arogyaswamy Pillai gave away his bungalow, Arogya Vilas on Big Bazaar Street to make way for the Hospital in memory of his late father.[28]
1929:
Siruvani water reaches Coimbatore on 26 April, thanks to Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar, after nearly 9 years of work on the project.[29]
1934:
Jupiter Pictures, a feature film production company, was founded by M. Somasundaram and S.K. Mohideen.
1934: Municipality elects its first woman Chairman, K. Thankamma Jacob.[30]
1946: HMS Vairi was decommissioned on 1 April 1946.[33]
1948: Nava India a Tamil daily founded by Prof P.R. Ramakrishnan (PRR) with V.N. Ramaswami as its Editor.[34]
1950:
Douglas DC-3 VT-CFK Plane crash near
Kotagiri. On 13 December 1950, a Douglas DC-3 carrying 17 passengers and four crew from Bombay to Coimbatore, crashed into high ground near Kotagiri due to a navigational error, killing all on board.[35]
1953: Coimbatore Rifle club inaugurated. (Has since generated many young champions)[36]
1966:
All India Radio launches its Coimbatore broadcast from
Chettipalayam transmission station on 18 December 1966.
1968:
Hotel Annapoorna's first branch started by K. Dhamodarasamy Naidu. (They started modestly as a small shop at Kennedy theatre and went on to become an iconic brand with 18+ branches.)[39]
2012: Corporation won the Best Corporation Award in Tamil Nadu.[47]
2013: First Coimbatore Marathon kicks off on 7 October 2013. (8000+ Run in support of Coimbatore Cancer Foundation and enabled by Coimbatore Runners.)[48]
2014: 100th anniversary of Variety Hall theatre (Delite Cinema).[24]
^Thuljaram Rao, J. (1963).
"Tiruvadi Sambasiva Venkataraman: 1884–1963"(PDF). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy. 11: 122–133.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 16 February 2018.
^Palanithurai, Ganapathy (2007). A handbook for panchayati raj administration (Tamil Nadu). Concept Publishing Company. p. 80.
ISBN978-81-8069-340-3.
^Turner, B (2005). The Statesman's Yearbook 2005: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. UK: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 856.
ISBN978-0-230-27133-3.
This is a timeline list of major events in the history of
Coimbatore, a major city in the Indian state of
Tamil Nadu.
Perur Patteswarar temple is one of the oldest temples in Coimbatore. Records indicate that the mandapam alone was built in the 6th century.The Rajakesari Peruvazhi is an ancient Chola highway used for
Roman and early European trade. The 10th century inscription mentions repairs made by the Chola king.Marudhamalai temple is constructed in the 12th century.Tipu Sultan resided in Coimbatore occasionally. He built a provincial palace and the
Kottaimedu mosque in the second half of the 18th century.CSI Immanuel Church, one of the oldest churches in Coimbatore, established in 1830.Clock tower installed in memory of A.T. Thiruvenkataswamy Mudaliar in 1877.Town Hall launched in 1892.Saidapet Agricultural School moved to Coimbatore in 1906, becomes Madras Agricultural College and later
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in 1971.Lakshmi Mills, one of the earliest spinning mills, is inaugurated in 1910 by
G. Kuppuswami Naidu.Sugarcane Breeding Institute was established in 1912. The sugarcane varieties developed at Coimbatore go on to support sugarcane industries of 22 countries globally by the 1960s.Central Studios was started in 1935 by B. Rangaswamy Naidu,
Samikannu Vincent, and others. US planes from U.S.
Lend-Leases are put into commission at HMS Vairi. During WW2 Coimbatore had two British bases: HMS Garuda (at Peelamedu) and HMS Vairi (Sulur)Many
Tamil Cinema greats had association with the early Coimbatore film industry.
MGR's hit movie
Malaikkallan was shot at
Pakshiraja Studios in 1954.
Sivaji Ganesan's famous film
Maragatham was shot in 1959.Stamp release at
World Classical Tamil Conference 2010.Coimbatore airport becomes an International Airport in 2012 after Cabinet approval.Tejas Squadron (The Flying Daggers) shifts base from Bengaluru to
Sulur Air Force Station in Jul, 2018.
Early history
BCE
~450 BCE - Ancient rock art prevalent in Kovanur,
Perianaickenpalayam taluk. Kovanur is 30 km northwest of Coimbatore.
1st to 4th century
The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during Sangam period. It served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the west coast and Tamil Nadu.
The Kosar tribe mentioned in the second century AD Tamil epic Silappathikaram and other poems in Sangam literature is associated with the Coimbatore region.
The region was located along an ancient Roman trade route that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu.
6th century
Perur Pateeswarar Temple mandapam was built by
Pallava king Narasinga Potharanya II (Rajasimha Varman). (The mandapam has fourteen huge pillars carved intricately with images of the deities.)[1]
The medieval Cholas conquered
Kongu Nadu in the 10th century.
`Rajakesari Perivazhi` (highways) running through the region were reinforced by
Chola King Adhitan. As per inscriptions in both Tamil &
Vattezhuthu (verse) found in Sundakkamuthur record this. (The peruvazhi connected west and east coasts. It also supported trade between
Cholas and the
Romans over time.)[2]
Much of Tamil Nadu came under the rule of the
Vijayanagara Empire by the 15th century.
16th century
1511:
Vyasaraja the
Madhva saint and scholar visits Coimbatore and its neighbourhood. The saint installed the Hanuman idol on R. G. Street.[4](The saint also performed his Chaturmasya Vratam here.)
In the 1550s, the
Madurai Nayaks, who were the military chiefs of the Vijaynagara Empire, took charge of the region.
17th century
Madurai Nayaks established their territory as an independent kingdom after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 17th century. (They introduced the
Palayakkarar system by which the Kongu Nadu region was divided into 24 Palayams.)
1790: Records of Tipu's provincial palace in Coimbatore. As per Francis Skelly's despatch to
Major General Charles Stuart on 1 August 1790 the existence of an "excellent" palace is recorded. (The place, missing in modern times, had "large and lofty" chambers, and walls covered with polished
chunam that looked like marble. The palace also had valuable
ivory and
sandal wood objects.)[6]
1790: British East India company takes Coimbatore. The company led by General
William Medows take control of Coimbatore (which was evacuated by Tipu) and a significant part of Coimbatore district. (Tipu pushes back and gains territory but the company retains control of Coimbatore).[5]
1791: Coimbatore fort destroyed: Tipu's Armies led by Qamar ud-Din defeated the British East India company in the
Siege of Coimbatore. (The fort was built during Vijayanagar times. Kottaimedu area of Coimbatore was the location of the erstwhile fort).
1801: The Coimbatore region played a prominent role in the Second Poligar War (1801) when it was under the area of operations of
Dheeran Chinnamalai.
1804: Coimbatore was made a
district and as the district headquarters on 24 November. (The Coimbatore district then included the current districts of
Nilgiris,
Tirupur,
Erode, and parts of
Kerala.)[7]
1860: St. Michael's Higher Secondary School was established.
1862:
Podanur Railway junction built. It is the oldest in the entire southern region. (Even Chennai Central Junction was built nine years after Podanur. Many freedom fighters have visited.)[9]
1865:
Coimbatore Prison is partially occupied and operations begin while construction continues.[11]
1866: Municipality of Coimbatore was established in 1866 according to the Town Improvements Act of 1865[12] with
Rober Stanes, a renowned industrialist as its first Chairman.[13](The early days of the municipality were difficult as it had to tackle plague epidemics and earthquakes.)[12]
1867: The first group of students appeared for the SSLC Examinations from Coimbatore.
1867: St. Michael's cathedral consecrated. (8 April)
1872: CSI All Souls Church consecrated on 27 January 1872. It cost Rs 20,000 and took 6 years to build.[14]
1877: Clock tower installed at Town Hall in memory of A.T. Thiruvenkataswamy Mudaliar.[15]
1880: Coimbatore Kalanidhi, one of the earliest Tamil newspapers was started by
S. P. Narasimhalu Naidu. (The newspaper was a contemporary of the 'Salem Desabhimani' (1880) and predates the '
Swadesamitran' (1982)).[16]
1883: The first financial institution/bank Coimbatore Janopakara Nidhi Limited setup by C. Sadasivam Mudaliar (22 June 1883). (A corpus of One lakh rupees, 2,000 shares of Rs. 50 each, was deployed at inauguration.)[17]
1892:
Victoria Town Hall built in the City with contributions from the Municipality and citizens. (
S. P. Narasimhalu Naidu contributed Rs. 1,000 and helped raise funds from the public for the construction of the building.)[18]
20th century
1900:
Nallepilly earthquake impacts Coimbatore on 8 February 1900. 6 on Reichter scale. (Clock tower and Central jail had damages.[19] The eastern bell tower of St. Michael's Cathedral also collapsed.[20])
1904: Plague deaths in Coimbatore total 1122 in the year.
1908:
V. O. Chidambaram Pillai jailed at Coimbatore Central Prison for two years. He was put to hard labour and yolked to an oil press earning him the name Chekkiluththa Chemmal.[22]
1909: Plague again in Coimbatore.[21] 1071 people die from plague.
1921:
C.S. Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar becomes Chairman of the Coimbatore Municipality for 14 years from 1921. (DB road (Divan Bahadur) is later named after him.
R. S. Puram is also named after him.)[26]
1921: Mapilla
Wagon tragedy at
Podanur. 67 dead bodies of protesters tumbled out of a goods wagon in a train coming from Malabar region. The victims had suffocated in the wagon and they were those arrested by the Malabar police earlier during the violence. (19 November 1921)[27]
1925:
Mahatma Gandhi visits Coimbatore, arrives at Podanur Junction on 19 March 1925.[9]
1928: Moses Gnanabaranam Eye Hospital instituted. Arogyaswamy Pillai gave away his bungalow, Arogya Vilas on Big Bazaar Street to make way for the Hospital in memory of his late father.[28]
1929:
Siruvani water reaches Coimbatore on 26 April, thanks to Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar, after nearly 9 years of work on the project.[29]
1934:
Jupiter Pictures, a feature film production company, was founded by M. Somasundaram and S.K. Mohideen.
1934: Municipality elects its first woman Chairman, K. Thankamma Jacob.[30]
1946: HMS Vairi was decommissioned on 1 April 1946.[33]
1948: Nava India a Tamil daily founded by Prof P.R. Ramakrishnan (PRR) with V.N. Ramaswami as its Editor.[34]
1950:
Douglas DC-3 VT-CFK Plane crash near
Kotagiri. On 13 December 1950, a Douglas DC-3 carrying 17 passengers and four crew from Bombay to Coimbatore, crashed into high ground near Kotagiri due to a navigational error, killing all on board.[35]
1953: Coimbatore Rifle club inaugurated. (Has since generated many young champions)[36]
1966:
All India Radio launches its Coimbatore broadcast from
Chettipalayam transmission station on 18 December 1966.
1968:
Hotel Annapoorna's first branch started by K. Dhamodarasamy Naidu. (They started modestly as a small shop at Kennedy theatre and went on to become an iconic brand with 18+ branches.)[39]
2012: Corporation won the Best Corporation Award in Tamil Nadu.[47]
2013: First Coimbatore Marathon kicks off on 7 October 2013. (8000+ Run in support of Coimbatore Cancer Foundation and enabled by Coimbatore Runners.)[48]
2014: 100th anniversary of Variety Hall theatre (Delite Cinema).[24]
^Thuljaram Rao, J. (1963).
"Tiruvadi Sambasiva Venkataraman: 1884–1963"(PDF). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy. 11: 122–133.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 16 February 2018.
^Palanithurai, Ganapathy (2007). A handbook for panchayati raj administration (Tamil Nadu). Concept Publishing Company. p. 80.
ISBN978-81-8069-340-3.
^Turner, B (2005). The Statesman's Yearbook 2005: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. UK: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 856.
ISBN978-0-230-27133-3.