On this day the first meeting of the Bengal Legislative Council was held under the presidency of Sir John Peter Grant, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. The council had been established under the Indian Councils Act of 1861 by the Governor-General of India on January 18, 1862, with the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal and some nominated members. It served as the legislature of the Bengal Presidency.
Europeans and AngloIndians dominated the council until the reforms of 1909, after which Indians came in. The council became the upper chamber of the legislature of Bengal under the Government of India Act 1935.