Kanpur, one of the industrial towns of modern India has a great history behind it. The History of Kanpur can be traced back to the dates of Mahabharata, one of two epics of India. It is believed that the Duriyodhana the Prince son of Dhiurdharashtra, the king of Hasthinapur, donated this area to Karna, a great warrior, on finding him as a fitting equivalent to Arjuna. From then onwards it was known as Karnapur and later became Kanpur. One school of thought is that it was founded by one Hindu king by name Chandel. It was named after Lord Krishna as Kanhiyapur, which name in the later years changed to Kanpur.

Though the history of Kanpur up to 13 th century is not known, the two areas in Kanpur viz., the area of Bithoor and Jajmau were famous from legendary times. It has been mentioned in Hindu mythology that Lord Brahma performed Ashvamedh Yajna (scarification of Horse) here after creating the Universe. It was here in an Ashram that the great poet Valmiki wrote Ramayana. Matha Seetha, wife of Lord Raama, is believed to have spent her days in the same Ashram after her exile from Ayodhya. The remains of an ancient fort belonging to the Vedic period can be seen in Jajmau even today. The popular belief is that the fort belonged to a Hindu Chandravanshi King by name Yayati, eighth successor to Lord Brahma. The Buddhist period Lord Shiva temple here is very famous even now.

Another History is that a village Kohna was created by Raja Kanti Deo in 1207 AD. This village later became Kanpur. The village of Kohna was very insignificant till it passed on into the hands of British under the treaty with Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh in 1801.This was the turning point of the History of Kanpur with the British realizing the strategic importance of this place, made it one of the important military stations. Then it followed the Indian Rebellion of 1857 commonly known as the First War of Independence. After that the Industrial Growth of Kanpur started.