St. John's College, Agra, was established in 1850 by the Church Missionary Society of England through the efforts of the Agra C.M.S. Association which came into being in 1840. The first Principal of the College The Rev. Thomas Valpy French, a distinguished fellow of University College, Oxford, was a man of great vision and missionary zeal. At its inception, the College formulated its own curriculum and conducted its own examination. From 1862 to 1888 the College remained affiliated to Calcutta University and later up to 1927 to Allahabad University.