Presidency College was established as Hindu College, on January 20, 1817 in Calcutta, the capital of British India. The foundation committee was headed by the great social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy. It was renamed Presidency College in 1855 to admit non Hindu students like Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists and Brahmo Samaj ists. It was placed under the control of the University of Calcutta in 1857. It was one of the first colleges in India to admit female students with the first female student attending class in 1897. It was ranked the number one liberal arts college in India by the weekly newsmagazine India Today.