City College was started by Ananda Mohan Bose and the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj in 1881. In 1961, the college was trifurcated into three separate colleges–Rammohan College (morning college), City College (day college) and Ananda Mohan College (evening college). Till 2017, the college used to be administered by the Brahmo Samaj Education Society, a society constituted by the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. Since then, it became a grant-in-aid college under the Department of Higher Education, Government of West Bengal no longer administered by the Brahmo Samaj Education Society.
Since its establishment in 1961, the college has been guided by eminent leaders whose vision has shaped its academic trajectory. Their contributions have been pivotal in fostering a culture of excellence, nurturing a deep commitment to the all-round development of students. The institution takes pride in its distinguished lineage of Principals, listed below –
| Sl. No. | Name | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Amiya Kumar Sen | 1961 – 1964 |
| 2. | Debajyoti Burman | 1964 – 1966 |
| 3. | Ramendra Nath Mitra | 1966 – 1970 |
| 4. | Anath Nath Mitra | 1970 – 1971 |
| 5. | Himangshu Kumar Roy | 1971 – 1983 |
| 6. | Shyama Prasad Sinha Roy | 1983 – Nov., 2000 |
| 7. | Balaram Dasgupta | Dec., 2000 – May, 2002 |
| 8. | Debabrata Panda | June, 2002 – Dec., 2003 |
| 9. | Ranajit Kumar Chattopadhyay | Jan., 2004 – Nov., 2005 |
| 10. | Suradish Chandra Datta | Dec., 2005 – June, 2008 |
| 11. | D. Bhattacharyya | July, 2008 – Oct., 2014 |
| 12. | Dipali Kundu (Datta) | Nov., 2014 – April, 2015 |
| 13. | Debasish Ray Chaudhuri | May, 2015 – July, 2015 |
| 14. | Pradip Kumar Maiti | July, 2015 – April, 2024 |
| 15. | Priyatosh Dutta | May, 2024 – |