The Government General Hospital was established on 16 November 1647 to treat soldiers of the British East India Company.[1] Madras Medical College was established on 2 February 1835. Mary Scharlieb graduated from Madras Medical College in 1878. In 1996, when the metropolis of Madras was renamed as Chennai, the name of the college also changed to Chennai Medical College. It was later re-renamed back to the Madras Medical College since the college was known worldwide by the older name. The foundation stone for the new building of the college was laid by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, on 28 February 2010. In January 2011, the hospital was renamed as Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.