The Bengal Renaissance took place throughout the nineteenth century. During this period, Bengal witnessed an intellectual awakening that is similar to Renaissance in Italy. Under the impact of British rule the Indian intellect learned to raise questions about life and beliefs. It led to the creation of great literary works and questioning of established socio-religious orthodoxy.

This is a very significant portion of the History of Bengal. The major players leading this included:

• Raja Rammohun Roy (1774-1833)
• Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-31) and his radical disciples called Young Bengal
• Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905) and his followers,
  • Akshay Kumar Datta (1820-86)
  • Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91)
  • Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-73)
  • Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay (1838-94)
  • Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

Institutions such as the Asiatic Society (est.1784), Fort William College (1800), Serampore College (1817), Hindu College (1817) (later rechristened Presidency College), General Assembly's Institution (now known as Scottish Church College)(1830), Calcutta School-book Society (1817), Calcutta Medical College (1835), University of Calcutta (1857), and Bethune College (1879) contributed significantly to the Renaissance.