1839 in India

Incumbents

• The Earl of Auckland, Governor-General, 1836-42.
• Alexander Cunningham, aide-de-camp to Lord Auckland, 1836-1840
• Sir John Keane, Lieutenant-General of the Bombay Army, 1834-1840
• Zirat Prasad, regent of Bhaisunda, 1829-1840
• Nau Nihal Singh, Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, 1839-1840
• Bhao Rao Phanse, Dewan of Indore State, 1839-1840
• Raghuji Bohonsle III, Maratha of Nagpur, 1818-1853
• Gaya Prasad, Chaube of Taraon State, 1812-1840
• Anand Rao Puar "Rao Sahib", Raja of Dewas State, 1817-1840
• Dariao Singh, Rao of Paldeo, 1812-1840
• Shiv Saran Singh, Rana of Baghal State, 1828-16 January 1840
• Jashwant Singh, Raja of Nabha State, December 1783-21 May 1840
• Kandhaji IV, Thakur Sahib of Palitana State, 1820-1840
• Nonghanji IV, Thakur Sahib of Palitana State, 1824-1860
• Henry Fane, Commander-in-Chief, India, 1835-1839
• Gaya Prasad, Chaube of Taraon State
• Anand Rao Puar "Rao Sahib", Raja of Dewas State
• Shiv Saran Singh, Rana of Baghal State
• Jashwant Singh, Raja of Nabha State
• Ahmed Shah, King of the Maqpon dynasty
• Chandrasinhji II Kesarisinhji, Maharana Raj Sahib of the Wankaner State, 1787-1839
• Vakhatsinhji Chandrasinhji, Maharana Raj Sahib of the Wankaner State, 1839-1842
• Ranjit Singh, founder and Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, 1780-1839
• Kharak Singh, Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, 1839-1840
• Jashwant Singh, Rana of Alirajpur State, 1818-17 March 1862
• Raja Zalim Sen, Raja of Mandi State, 1826-1839
• Raja Balbir Sen, Raja of Mandi, 1839-1851
• Bhup Deo, Raja of Kanker State, 1818-1839
• Padma Deo, Raja of Kanker State, 1839–1853
• Major-General William Henry Sleeman heads the Thuggee and Dacoity Department from February 1839
• Thug Behram, ruler of a Thugee death cult

  Events

• First Anglo-Afghan War, 1837-1842
• Battle of Ghazni, part of the First Anglo-Afghan War, occurs on 23 July 1839 in Ghazni, Afghanistan
• East India Company forces capture Aden to provide a coaling station for ships en route to India, founding the Aden Colony
• Khanate of Kalat is reduced to a subsidiary alliance with the British Empire, self-governing under Khans
• British India Society is founded in England
• Jessop & Company work on construction of the first iron bridge in British India, Loha-ka-Pul over River Gomti at Lucknow, 1812-1840
• 36th Jacob's Horse, a unit cavalry of the British Indian Army, is established
• Feast of Saint Raphael, Ollur is held for the first time in Ollur, near Thrissur, Kerala
• The cornerstone for St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is laid
• Bishop Hodges Higher Secondary School is established
• St. Mary's Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School is established
• St. Paul's Church, Landour is established
• Thomas John Newbold is appointed deputy assistant adjutant-general and postmaster to the field force of the East India Company
• John Nicholson, then a cadet in the East India Company's Bengal Infantry, reaches India
• Sambad Prabhakar, a weekly newspaper, became a daily newspaper
• The Statue of Thomas Munro was shipped to Madras

  Births

• Allan Webb in Calcutta, second Bishop of Bloemfontein, baptised on 17 November
• William Francis Frederick Waller, recipient of the Victoria Cross, born at Dagoolie, India on 20 August 1839
• Hanson Jarrett, recipient of the Victoria Cross, on 22 March in Madras
• Hugh Shaw, recipient of the Victoria Cross, on 4 February in Madras
• Jamsetji Tata, pioneer industrialist, who founded the Tata Group, India's biggest conglomerate company, on 3 March in Navsari, Baroda, Bombay Presidency

  Deaths

• Ranjit Singh, first Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, on 27 June 1839 in Lahore, Punjab, Sikh Empire
• Sankara Varman, astronomer-mathematician belonging to the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics
• George Havell, a painter
• Chandrasinhji II Kesarisinhji, Maharana Raj Sahib of the Wankaner State
• Jean-François Allard, French soldier and adventurer, in Punjab, Sikh Empire
• William Francklin, English orientalist and army officer, on 12 April
• Raja Zalim Sen, Raja of Mandi State, died in June 1839
• Bhup Deo, Raja of Kanker State