Nilgiris

The earliest reference to the political history of the Nilgiris relates to the Ganga Dynasty of Mysore. Immediately after the Nilgiris was ceded to the British in the year 1789, it became a part of Coimbatore district. In the month of August 1868, the district of Nilgiris was separated from the Coimbatore district. James Wilkinson Breeks took over the administration of the Nilgiris as its Commissioner. In the month of February 1882, the Nilgiris was made a district and a Collector was appointed in the place of the Commissioner. On the 1st of February 1882, Richard Wellesley Barlow, who was the then Commissioner, became the First Collector of Nilgiris.