Dhaka College started as an English school at dhaka in 1835. Dr. James Taylor (Civil Surgeon at Dhaka and a well-known historian) sponsored the school and organised a local Committee of Public Instruction with the help of district magistrate Mr. Grant. The school building was erected partly out of public donations on the grounds of an English factory. The Bishop of calcutta laid the foundation stone in 1841, when the school was raised to the status of a college, and the buildings were completed in 1946. Among the first batch of students were Muslims, Hindus, Armenians and Portuguese. In order to accommodate physics and chemistry laboratories, the college was removed in 1873 to a commodious building to the east of victoria park. From there it was shifted in 1908 to the curzon hall while the science departments were housed in the chemistry building of the university of dhaka. On the establishment of Dhaka University, the college was shifted to the present High Court Building. During the Second World War it was shifted to Siddique Bazar.

At present, it has its own commodious premises near Dhaka new market. The college can boast of having had many eminent educationists as its principal, amongst whom were Dr. T Wise, W Brennad, W Booth, F C Turner, A J Archibald, and Dr. P K Roy. The college was affiliated to the university of calcutta as soon as it was started in 1858. Early graduates of Dhaka College included Bazlur Rahim (later Khan Bahadur), Abdul Aziz (later Inspector of Schools, Chittagong Division), Zahedur Rahman Zahid (later Judge of High Court and father of the late huseyn shaheed suhrawardy), Anisuzzaman Khan (later Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate in Calcutta), Naziruddin Ahmed (later Deputy Magistrate and the first Registrar of Dhaka University) and many others eminent personalities. [S M Mahfuzur Rahman]