Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On October 16, 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School and was later upgraded to high school, and then a graduate college. The Presidency College is one of the oldest government arts colleges in India. It is one of the two Presidency colleges established by the British in India, the other being the Presidency College, Kolkata. As the first principle, the choice of Elphinstone fell on E. B. Powell, a University of Cambridge Wrangler in mathematics.