Beawar was founded by Colonel Dixon in 1835. Beawar was part of British India, and the administrative headquarters of Merwara district. Since the ancient days, the region where Beawar lies is called Magra-Merwaran, and it was named after a local village called Beawar Khas by the British. This region was ruled by fierce tribes such as the Kathats (Muslim Rajputs) and Rawat Rajputs, British tried to subdue them but were unsuccessful because the tribes were scattered across many small villages and they were excellent in conducting guerilla warfare. The Battle of Shyamgarh was fought between the Kathats and British. The British won and Kathats abandoned the fort of Shyamgarh,but employed guerilla tactics causing great loss to the British. So British founded a military cantonment with fortified walls for protection and further military missions. Another factor involved in building the cantonment here was Beawar's location at the strategic tri-junction of the royal states of Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur.
To keep the menace of Kathats and Rawat-Rajputs at bay, British raised a battalion, enrolling Kathats and Rawat-Rajputs (designating them as a martial race), and named it Magra-Merwara battalion. They used this battalion for further military missions which proved quite efficient. According to a legend, British posted a sign saying "be aware" as a warning to the British caravans and officers leaving the cantonment or crossing the cantonment. Slowly with time the local people came to think of it as the name of the cantonment and so the cantonment began to be called Beawar. It is a sub divisional headquarters.
It is the birthplace of famous classical mathematician Duncan Sommerville
