Warren Hastings

The Right Honourable Warren Hastings FRS
Portrait by Tilly Kettle
Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William
In office 20 October 1773 – 8 February 1785[1]
Monarch	George III
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Sir John Macpherson, Bt As acting Governor-General
Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal)
In office 28 April 1772 – 20 October 1773
Preceded by	John Cartier
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1732-12-06)6 December 1732 Churchill, Oxfordshire
Died	22 August 1818(1818-08-22) (aged 85) Daylesford, Gloucestershire
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Mary Buchanan ​ ​ (m. 1756; died 1759)​ Marian Hastings ​ (m. 1777)​
Residence	Daylesford House
Alma mater	Westminster 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.