S Muthiah, the distinguished chronicler of the history of Madras, died in a city hospital on Saturday at the age of 89.
He was the author of almost 20 books on the city and its residents beginning with Madras Discovered (later retitled Madras Rediscovered) which was first published in 1981 and ran into seven editions.
Born in 1930 in Pallathur in the erstwhile Madras Presidency, Muthiah worked with the Times of Ceylon in Colombo for 17 years before joining TTK Maps in Chennai where he helped prepare maps and guide books on South India.
Following his retirement, he founded a fortnightly tabloid called Madras Musings.
Muthiah was also instrumental in kicking off the annual Madras Day celebrations to commemorate the founding of the settlement of Fort St. George on August 22, 1639.
He is survived by two daughters, Ranjani and Parvathy. His wife Valliammai had died in 2013.