Kannur
city in Kannur district in Kerala, India
Kannur (Malayalam: [kɐɳːuːr] ), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated 274 kilometres (170 mi) north of the major port city and commercial hub Kochi and 137 kilometres (85 mi) south of the major port city and commercial hub, Mangalore. It is the fifth largest city in Kerala. During British colonial rule in India, when Kannur was a part of the Malabar District (Madras Presidency), the city was known as Cannanore. Kannur is the fifth largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. As of the 2011 census, Kannur Municipal Corporation, the local body which administers mainland area of city, had a population of 232,486.
Kannur was the headquarters of Kolathunadu, one of the four most important dynasties on the Malabar Coast, along with the Zamorin of Calicut, Kingdom of Cochin and Kingdom of Quilon. The Arakkal kingdom had right over the city of Kannur and Laccadive Islands in the late medieval period. Kannur municipality was formed on 1 November 1866 by the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns Act 1850) of the British Indian Empire, along with the municipalities of Thalassery, Kozhikode, Palakkad and Fort Kochi, making them the first modern municipalities in the state. It was upgraded to a municipal corporation in 2015.
The public source identifies “Kannur” as city in Kannur district in Kerala, India. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Kannur, city and district.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Kannur”, the useful work is to connect “city in Kannur district in Kerala, India” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4789666. VIAF identifies the subject as 137201318. The Library of Congress control number is n80026724. Authority coordinates are 11.869, 75.356. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011, 1866, 1865 and 1850.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kannur”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kannur primary sources, Kannur archive and Kannur research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kannur”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kannur” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.