Chowdhuries of Natore

The Chowdhuries of Natore are a noble Bengali family who have played important roles throughout the history of North Bengal. In 1787, under the governorship of Lord Cornwallis, the Company Raj conferred the title of Chowdhury to him, in addition to the family's original title of Khan.

After his death, his son Dost Muhammad Khan extended the zamindari across the Kholabaria, Piprul and Kalam areas, along the wetlands of Chalan Beel. Dost Muhammad Khan Chowdhury is said to have married the daughter of the trustee of the waqf of the neighboring Bagha Upazila. His eldest son Chowdhury Muhammad Ali Khan was a religious scholar, fluent in Persian and Arabic.

Khan Bahadur Chowdhury Muhammad Ali Khan had two sons; Rashid and Ershad. His daughter Rabeya Khatun married into the Dhanbari Nawab family and was gifted a quarter of the Dhanbari zamindari. Rashid Ali Khan Chowdhury inherited said zamindari from his father and most notably founded the Rashid Anglo-Persian School in 1862. Ershad Ali Khan Chowdhury was a notable politician and member of the Bengal Legislative Council. After the establishment of the All-India Muslim League in 1906, he was appointed as the inaugural chairman of its Natore branch. He was also a member of the Bengal Management Conference and a supporter of the Mohammedan Literary Society. Khan Chowdhury's daughter married into the Dhanbari zamindari.

Although the East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 led to the abolishment of the zamindari system, members of the family continued to hold political power in Bangladesh, including Abdus Sattar Khan Chowdhury, a former BNP parliamentarian.