In 1870, the Maharaja of Vijaynagaram first floated the idea of starting a medical college in Lucknow and offered to donate Rs 3 lacs, but due to paucity of funds this was not passed by the Government and the dream of the Maharaja could not take shape. It was in 1905 that, to commemorate the visit of Prince of Wales to India, the Raja of Jehangirabad and Sir Taussuduq Rasool requested the Raja of Ayodhya to persuade Sir James LaTouche, Lt Governor of United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) to recommend the establishment of the medical college to the Governor of India. This time the Government gave its sanction but with the condition that the people of United Provinces raise a sum of Rs 8 lacs.

The first postgraduate examination in Medicine and Pathology was held in 1918. The Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University and associated King George's Hospital were formally transferred under the Lucknow University in 1921, on the establishment of the University of Lucknow and the campus had the privilege of hosting the first convocation of the University on 30th October, 1922. In the year 1931, great need was felt of a women's hospital. The Queen Mary's Hospital across the Shahmina Road was built and formally inaugurated on 4th November 1932 with a bed strength of 52. In 1951, a 3 storied building called Gandhi Memorial Hospital was constructed for medical cases with a bed strength of 144. It was at this stage that the name King George's Hospital was changed to Gandhi Memorial & Associated Hospitals. In 1955 another block housing the Children's Hospital was added. Yet another block was built for the Surgery department. The Departments of Orthopedic Surgery, E.N.T. and Anesthesia were also created in the fifties. The speciality departments of Neurology, Cardiology, Psychiatry and Plastic Surgery came up in the seventies. The surgical superspeciality departments of Urology, Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery and Surgical Oncology were carved out from the Department of Surgery in 1998.

During the years 1981 to 1992 the college and hospital were taken over by the State Government and all administrative control was through the State Government instead of Lucknow University. However, this situation again reverted back in 1956, this hospital had the distinction of being selected by the Rockefeller Foundation for setting up a Residency Training Programme and funds were obtained for a 5 storied Residents' Hostel. The programme has run successfully here and has been emulated in all the medical colleges of the state. In the 1980's the college was selected as a site for establishment of a Clinical Epidemiology Unit by the International Clinical Epidemiology Network. In 1991, the Unit was formally inaugurated and since has been upgraded as the KGMC Institute of Clinical Epidemiology (KGMCICE).

A major milestone in the history of this institution is its conversion and upgradation as the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University. This came about by an act passed on the 16th September 2002 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Sushree Mayawati. This is the only medical university in the north and one of 3 such universities in the country. Substantial funds were earmarked for the new university. The 1st Vice Chancellor of this university was Prof KM Singh, followed in May 2003 by the appointment of Padmshri Prof Mahendra Bhandari on this post. In December 2003, on the request of alumni and teachers, its historical name was restored and the new university came to be known as the King George Medical University. However, in 2007, with the return of Sushree Mayawati as Chief Minister, the institution's name was again changed to Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University.

Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University is situated in the heart of the historic city of Lucknow which is the capital of India 's most populous state Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow lies about 500 km east of Delhi . The city was the seat of the Nawabs of Awadh in the 19 th century and a centre for the arts - music, painting, dance, ‘shatranj' or chess, kite flying and ‘tehzeeb' or culture. The university campus adjoins the crowded ‘Chowk' area and is off Shahmina Road , very close to the bank of River Gomti

The university campus is spread over an area of roughly 100,000 sq metres. It is situated about 5 km from Charbagh Railway Station and is well connected to all parts of the city by public transport systems such as bus, tempo and taxi. Originally, the main administrative building, called the Administrative Block and the Anatomy and Physiolgy buildings were built in the early 20 th century. As the institution grew, more and more departments were created in new buildings. Therefore the campus really consists of a conglomeration of buildings housing the various departments, which came up over a period of 100 years as and when the need was felt. There are separate buildings for Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Cardiology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery, Rheumatology, Geriatric Mental Health, Surgical Oncology, Chest Medicine, Pathology, Pharmacology, Anaesthesiology, Opthalmology, Urology and Community Medicine. Cardiothoracic Surgery is presently in the Chest Medicine building, Microbiology along with Pathology and Biochemistry along with Physiology.
These details are retrieved from www.kgmcindia.edu