An inscription found near Begur, reveals that the district was a part of the Ganga Dynasty until 1004 CE and was known as Benga-val-oru, the City of Guards in old Kannada. The Cholas of Tamil Nadu ruled over the city from 1015 to 1116 until the town came under the rule of the Hoysala Empire. Modern Bangalore was founded by a feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire, Kempe Gowda I, who built a mud fort in the proximity of modern Bangalore in 1537. Kempe Gowda referred to the new town as his gandu bhoomi or Land of Heroes.
Within the fort, the town was divided into petes () or localities. The town had two main streets: Chickpete Street ran east-west and Dodpete Street ran north-south. Their intersection formed Dodpete square — the heart of Bangalore. Kempe Gowda's successor, Kempe Gowda II, built four famous towers that marked Bangalore's boundary.
During the Vijayanagara rule, Bangalore was also referred to as Devarāyanagara and Kalyānapura ("City Auspicious").

After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, Bangalore's rule changed hands several times. It was captured by the Maratha chief Shahaji Bhonsle prior to a Mughal invasion. The city became part of the Kingdom of Mysore when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb leased Bangalore to Chikkadeva Raja Wodeyar in 1689. After the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II in 1759, Haider Ali, Commander-in-Chief of the Mysore Army, proclaimed himself the de-facto ruler of Mysore. The kingdom later passed on to Haider Ali's son Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore. Bangalore was eventually incorporated into the British East Indian Empire after Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799). The British returned administrative control of the Bangalore pete to the Maharajah of Mysore, choosing only to retain the cantonment under their jurisdiction. Under British rule, Bangalore was incorporated into the Madras Presidency. The Kingdom of Mysore relocated its capital from Mysore city to Bangalore in 1831.
Two important developments during this period contributed to the rapid growth of the city — the introduction of telegraph connections and a rail connection to Madras in 1864.



In the 19th century, Bangalore essentially became a twin city, with the pete, whose residents were predominantly Kannadigas, and the Bangalore Cantonment, whose residents were mostly migrants from Tamil Nadu.
Bangalore was hit by a plague epidemic in 1898 that dramatically reduced its population. New extensions in Malleswaram and Basavanagudi were developed in the North and South of the Pete. Telephone lines were laid to help co-ordinate anti-plague operations, and a health officer was appointed to the city in 1898. In 1906 Bangalore became the first city in India to have electricity, powered by the hydroelectric plant situated in Shivanasamudra. Bangalore's reputation as the Garden City of India began in 1927 with the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the rule of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. Several projects such as the construction of parks, public buildings and hospitals were instituted to beautify the city. After Indian independence in August 1947, Bangalore was included in the dominion of Mysore State. Public sector employment and education provided opportunities for Kannadigas from the rest of the state to migrate to the city. Bangalore experienced rapid growth in the decades 1941–51 and 1971–81, which saw the arrival of many immigrants from northern Karnataka and Kodagu. By 1961 Bangalore had become the sixth largest city in India, with a population of 1,207,000.
In the decades that followed, Bangalore's manufacturing base continued to expand with the establishment of private companies such as Motor Industries Company (MICO; a subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH), which set up its manufacturing plant in the city. Bangalore experienced a boom in its real estate market in the 1980s and 1990s, spurred by capital investors from other parts of the country who converted Bangalore's large plots and colonial bungalows to multistorey apartments.
The establishment of multinational companies such as ANZ Bank and Citibank as well as international fast food chains such as Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in the 1990s continued to expand foreign investment in Bangalore. The city witnessed one of its largest media events ever when it hosted the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant, which was seen by over two billion viewers worldwide.
Many of these developments were met with opposition from groups fearing the loss of the city's national and linguistic identity. Widespread protests organised against the Miss World contest by women's organisations led to the arrests of about 1,000 protesters. In 1996 farmer activists attacked and damaged the KFC outlet in Bangalore, accusing it of "representing western food habits which are not needed in India".
Through the 1990s the state government promoted large-scale development projects such as the construction of sports stadia and exclusive apartment complexes, which resulted in the demolition and resettlement of poorer settlements to distant peripheral locations. In the mid-1990s, Bangalore's economy grew many fold because of the software boom. Contrastingly, employment opportunities in almost all other sectors, in the city's manufacturing industries, declined. This was due to rampant and uncontrolled globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation.

On the occasion of "SUVARNA KARNATAKA" the Bangalore city will be named as BENGALOORU.Also 10 cities of Suvarna Karnataka are renamed from November first marking the Kannada Rajyotsava day.

The 10 cities are: Bengalooru (Bangalore), Mysooru (Mysore), Mangalooru (Mangalore), Chikmagalooru (Chikmagalur), Shivamogga (Shimoga), Belagaavi (Belgaum), Kalburgi (Gulbarga), Hubballi (Hubli), Hosapete (Hospet) and Tumakooru (Tumkur).

Bangalore's HAL Airport (IATA code: BLR) is India's third busiest and functions as both a domestic and international airport. Direct flights from Bangalore fly to destinations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The liberalisation of India's economic policies has led to increase in the number of domestic carriers within India, with several low-cost carriers such as SpiceJet, Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and Go Air servicing the city. Air Deccan, with its hub in Bangalore, has the most number of flights into and out of Bangalore. Unlike most airports in the country which are controlled by the Airports Authority of India, the ''quasi'' government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited owns and operates Bangalore's HAL Airport, and also uses it to test and develop fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force. The dual-vested interests in the airport along with an increase in air traffic to Bangalore led to a prolonged tussle for operational ownership between the HAL and the Government of Karnataka. In 1991 plans for a large-scale Bangalore International Airport were conceived; however, the project was repeatedly delayed due to red tape and friction between the private companies involved and the state government. Clearance for the construction of the US$ 288 million (Rs. 1,300 crore) airport was eventually granted in June 2004, with Siemens AG, Zurich Airport and Larsen and Toubro as its major private stakeholders. Construction work on the airport began in July 2005.

Bangalore is well connected to the rest of the country through the Indian Railways. The Rajdhani Express connects Bangalore to New Delhi. The city is also connected to Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, as well as other major cities in Karnataka. Three-wheeled, black and yellow auto-rickshaws, referred to as autos, are a popular form of transport. They are metered and can accommodate up to three passengers. Taxi service within Bangalore is provided by several operators commonly referred to as City Taxis and can take in up to four passengers and are usually metered and relatively more expensive than auto-rickshaws. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) operates a fleet of 3,207 BMTC public buses, servicing an average of 2,800,000 commuters. BMTC also has about 25 Low Floor, Air Conditioned Volvo buses on major routes and has plans to introduce another 25 by the end of 2006. The new additions to BMTC is its "Pink Buses" meant for the women passengers alone. An intra-city rapid rail transport system called the Namma Metro is being developed and is expected to be operational in 2008. The Metro, once ready, will encompass a 33 km (20.5 mi) elevated and underground rail network, with 32 stations in Phase I and more being added in Phase II.

As of 2005 Bangalore had a population of over six million, making it the 3rd most populous city in India and the 27th largest city in the world by population. With a decadal growth rate of 38%, Bangalore was the fastest-growing Indian metropolis after New Delhi for the decade 1991–2001. Residents of Bangalore are referred to as Bangaloreans. While Kannadigas accounted for 38% of the population, sizable minorities from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra exist. Scheduled Castes and Tribes account for 14.3% of the city's population. Kannada, the official language of the state of Karnataka, is widely spoken in Bangalore, as are Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. English is the lingua franca of the city's white-collar workforce.

According to the 2001 census of India, 79.37% of Bangalore's population is Hindu — roughly the same as the national average. Muslims comprise 13.37% of the population, which again is roughly the same as the national average, while Christians and Jains account for 5.79% and 1.05% of the population, respectively, double that of their national averages. Women make up 47.5% of Bangalore's population. Bangalore has the second highest literacy rate (83%) for an Indian metropolis, after Mumbai. The city's workforce structure is predominantly non-agrarian, with only 6% of Bangalore's workforce being engaged in agriculture-related activities. Roughly 10% of Bangalore's population lives in slums — a relatively low proportion when compared to other cities such as Mumbai (54%) and Nairobi (60%). The 2004 National Crime Records Bureau statistics indicate that Bangalore accounts for 9.2% of the total crimes reported from 35 major cities in India. Delhi and Mumbai accounted for 15.7% and 9.5% respectively.. Communal tensions between the city's two largest ethnic groups, the Kannadigas and the Tamils, have led to numerous altercations. In early 1991, tensions between the two groups flared up with the proposed installation of a statue honouring the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in the city. Widespread agitation and protests organised by groups sympathetic to Kannadigas led the Commissioner of the Bangalore City Corporation to withdraw permission to unveil the statue, which remains wrapped under cloth. Later the same year, the Karnataka Government, acting upon the directives of the Government of India, agreed to release 205 tmc of water from the river Kaveri to the Government of Tamil Nadu, which resulted in anti-Tamil riots that left 20 people dead. After the demolition of the Babri Masjid in the North Indian city of Ayodhya in 1992, communal violence between Hindus and Muslims spread to Bangalore during which Muslim houses and huts as well as an Arabic school for Muslim girls were raided and torched. In 1997 the demolition of a stone structure in a mosque in Jayanagar led to violence in sensitive areas in the city that left four dead.

Schools in Bangalore are either run by the state government or by private, sometimes religious, organizations. Private schools in Bangalore typically use English as the medium of instruction and are affiliated with either the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) or the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in Junior College (also known as Pre-University) in one of three streams — Arts, Commerce or Science. Upon completing the required coursework, students enroll in general or professional degrees.

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Chief Engineer and later Diwan of Mysore (1912–19), played an instrumental role in shaping the early history of education in Bangalore. The University of Agricultural Sciences was started as a vocational school under his directives. He was also closely associated with the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science in 1909 and University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) which was founded in 1917, UVCE is one of India's most prestigious engineering institutions. Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (popularly known as RVCE) is located on the outskirts of the city. Bangalore is home to several other nationally renowned universities such as the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), National Law School of India University and Bangalore Medical College. St. John's Medical College and Bangalore Medical College are consistently ranked among the top ten medical schools in India. Bangalore's IT industry recruits extensively from the city's large pool of engineering colleges, notable among them are People's Education Society Institute of Technology, MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology and BMS College of Engineering. The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), is one of the three places in India where Stem cell research is conducted. International Institute of Information Technology - Bangalore (IIIT-B) is a notable technology institute, that was started with a significant corporate participation in Electronic City.

Bangalore has a number of public libraries with free entry to all visitors. The oldest of the the city's public libraries is located in the historical Sir Seshadri Iyer Memorial Hall in Cubbon Park.