List of colonial governors of Virginia
Encyclopedia
This is a list of colonial governors of Virginia.
Note: Some of those who held the lead role as governor of Virginia never visited the New World and governed through deputies resident in the colony. Others, such as Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, held the lead role for many years, but were only in Virginia a short portion of that time, delegating to others most of the time. Probably for those reasons, in many historical documents and references, the deputies and lieutenant governors who had the primary responsibility in Virginia are also often titled simply "governor." Also, transportation from England routinely took several months, and occasionally, much longer. Thus, dates may appear to overlap.
. Two unsuccessful settlements were established under two different governors, and the final fate of the colonists remains unknown.
s oversaw the operation of the Virginia Colony. Most were styled "President of the Council", although some were styled "governor" by the proprietors.
. Governors were appointed by the ruling monarch to oversee the interests of the Crown. During the interregnum period (1649–1660), when England came under commonwealth rule
and the protectorate rule
of Oliver
and Richard Cromwell
, those governments appointed Virginia's governors. William Berkeley, who was governor at the time of the execution of King Charles I
, remained in office until the arrival of a Commonwealth fleet in 1651 led to his removal. Berkeley was returned to office by votes of the Virginia assembly and by appointment of the restored King Charles II
in 1660.
Note: Some of those who held the lead role as governor of Virginia never visited the New World and governed through deputies resident in the colony. Others, such as Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, held the lead role for many years, but were only in Virginia a short portion of that time, delegating to others most of the time. Probably for those reasons, in many historical documents and references, the deputies and lieutenant governors who had the primary responsibility in Virginia are also often titled simply "governor." Also, transportation from England routinely took several months, and occasionally, much longer. Thus, dates may appear to overlap.
Governors of Roanoke Colony (1585–c. 1590)
The first English attempt to colonize Virginia was the "Lost Colony" of RoanokeRoanoke Colony
The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island in Dare County, present-day North Carolina, United States was a late 16th-century attempt to establish a permanent English settlement in what later became the Virginia Colony. The enterprise was financed and organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and carried out by...
. Two unsuccessful settlements were established under two different governors, and the final fate of the colonists remains unknown.
- Sir Walter RaleighWalter RaleighSir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
, "Lord and Governor of Virginia" (1585–c. 1590, absentee)- Ralph LaneRalph LaneSir Ralph Lane was an English explorer of the Elizabethan era. He was part of the unsuccessful attempt in 1585 to colonize Roanoke Island, North Carolina. He also served the Crown in Ireland and was knighted by the Queen in 1593....
(1585–1586) - John White (1587)
- Ralph Lane
Virginia Company of London Governors (1607–1624)
From 1606 until 1624, Proprietary GovernorProprietary Governor
Proprietary Governors were individuals authorized to govern proprietary colonies. Under the proprietary system, individuals or companies were granted commercial charters by the King of England to establish colonies. These proprietors then selected the governors and other officials in the colony....
s oversaw the operation of the Virginia Colony. Most were styled "President of the Council", although some were styled "governor" by the proprietors.
- President of the Council Edward Maria WingfieldEdward Maria WingfieldSir Edward Maria Wingfield, sometimes hyphenated as Edward-Maria Wingfield, was a soldier, Member of Parliament, and English colonist in America...
(1607) - President of the Council John Ratcliffe (1608) (real name "Capt. John Sicklemore"(?))
- Matthew ScrivenerMatthew ScrivenerMatthew Scrivener was an English colonist in Virginia. He served briefly as acting governor of Jamestown, when he was succeeded by Captain John Smith...
(1608) - President of the Council John SmithJohn Smith of JamestownCaptain John Smith Admiral of New England was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania and friend Mózes Székely...
(1608–1609) - President of the Council The Honourable George PercyGeorge PercyGeorge Percy was an English explorer, author, and early Colonial Governor of Virginia.-Early life:George Percy was born in England, the youngest son of Henry Percy, 2nd/8th Earl of Northumberland and Lady Catherine Neville. He was sickly for much of his life, possibly suffering from epilepsy or...
(1609–1610) - Governor Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La WarrThomas West, 3rd Baron De La WarrThomas West, 3rd and 12th Baron De La Warr was the Englishman after whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, an American Indian people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named....
(1609–1618, sometimes absentee)- Deputy Governor Sir Thomas GatesThomas Gates (governor)Sir Thomas Gates , followed George Percy as governor of Jamestown, the English colony of Virginia . Percy, through inept leadership, was responsible for the lives lost during the period called the Starving Time...
(May–June 1610) - Deputy Governor The Honourable George PercyGeorge PercyGeorge Percy was an English explorer, author, and early Colonial Governor of Virginia.-Early life:George Percy was born in England, the youngest son of Henry Percy, 2nd/8th Earl of Northumberland and Lady Catherine Neville. He was sickly for much of his life, possibly suffering from epilepsy or...
(March–May 1611) - Acting Governor Sir Thomas DaleThomas DaleSir Thomas Dale was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
(May–August 1611) - Acting Governor Sir Thomas GatesThomas Gates (governor)Sir Thomas Gates , followed George Percy as governor of Jamestown, the English colony of Virginia . Percy, through inept leadership, was responsible for the lives lost during the period called the Starving Time...
(1611–1613) - Acting Governor Sir Thomas DaleThomas DaleSir Thomas Dale was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
(1613–1616) - Lieutenant Governor Sir George YeardleyGeorge YeardleySir George Yeardley was a plantation owner and three time colonial Governor of the British Colony of Virginia. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ill-fated Third Supply Mission, whose flagship, the Sea Venture, was shipwrecked on Bermuda for 10 months in 1609-10, he is best remembered...
(1616–1617) - Lieutenant Governor Sir Samuel ArgallSamuel ArgallSir Samuel Argall was an English adventurer and naval officer.As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the new English colony of Virginia, based at Jamestown, and made numerous voyages to the New World...
(1617–1619)
- Deputy Governor Sir Thomas Gates
- Governor Sir George YeardleyGeorge YeardleySir George Yeardley was a plantation owner and three time colonial Governor of the British Colony of Virginia. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ill-fated Third Supply Mission, whose flagship, the Sea Venture, was shipwrecked on Bermuda for 10 months in 1609-10, he is best remembered...
(1619–1621) - Governor Sir Francis WyattFrancis WyattSir Francis Wyatt was the first English royal governor of Virginia. He sailed for America on August 1, 1621 on board the George. He became governor shortly after his arrival in October, taking with him the first written constitution for an English colony...
(1621–1624)
Crown Governors (1624–1652)
After the Virginia Company of London lost its proprietary charter in 1624, the colony was taken over by the English Crown, and became a crown colonyCrown colony
A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....
. Governors were appointed by the ruling monarch to oversee the interests of the Crown. During the interregnum period (1649–1660), when England came under commonwealth rule
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
and the protectorate rule
The Protectorate
In British history, the Protectorate was the period 1653–1659 during which the Commonwealth of England was governed by a Lord Protector.-Background:...
of Oliver
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and Richard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell
At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...
, those governments appointed Virginia's governors. William Berkeley, who was governor at the time of the execution of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, remained in office until the arrival of a Commonwealth fleet in 1651 led to his removal. Berkeley was returned to office by votes of the Virginia assembly and by appointment of the restored King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in 1660.
- Governor Sir Francis WyattFrancis WyattSir Francis Wyatt was the first English royal governor of Virginia. He sailed for America on August 1, 1621 on board the George. He became governor shortly after his arrival in October, taking with him the first written constitution for an English colony...
(1624–1626) - Governor Sir George YeardleyGeorge YeardleySir George Yeardley was a plantation owner and three time colonial Governor of the British Colony of Virginia. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ill-fated Third Supply Mission, whose flagship, the Sea Venture, was shipwrecked on Bermuda for 10 months in 1609-10, he is best remembered...
(1626–1627) - Acting Governor The Honourable Francis WestFrancis WestFrancis West was a Deputy Governor of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia.West was the second son of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr of Wherwell Abbey in Hampshire and his wife, Anne Knollys....
(1627–1629) - Governor Sir John HarveyJohn Harvey (Virginia)Sir John Harvey was a Crown Governor of Virginia. He was elected to the position on 26 March 1628. In 1635 he was suspended and impeached by the House of Burgesses , and he returned to England. He was restored to his post by the King in 1636 and returned to Virginia the following year...
(1628–1639)- Acting Governor John PottJohn PottJohn Potts was a physician and Colonial Governor of Virginia at the Jamestown settlement in the Virginia Colony in the early 17th century.-Biography:...
(1629–1630) - Acting Governor The Honourable John WestJohn West (governor)John West was the colonial Governor of Virginia from 1635 to 1637, the third West brother to serve in that position.-Biography:...
(1635–1636)
- Acting Governor John Pott
- Governor Sir Francis WyattFrancis WyattSir Francis Wyatt was the first English royal governor of Virginia. He sailed for America on August 1, 1621 on board the George. He became governor shortly after his arrival in October, taking with him the first written constitution for an English colony...
(1639–1642) - Governor Sir William Berkeley (1642–1652)
- Acting Governor Sir Richard Kemp (1644–1645)
Commonwealth and Protectorate Governors (1652–1660)
- Governor Richard BennettRichard Bennett (Governor)Richard Bennett was an English Governor of the Colony of Virginia.Born in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, Bennett served as governor from 30 April 1652, until 2 March 1655...
(1652–1655) - Governor Edward DiggesEdward DiggesEdward Digges was a British barrister and colonist who served as Colonial Governor of Virginia from March 1655 to December 1656...
(1655–1658) - Governor Samuel MathewsSamuel Mathews (Governor)Samuel Mathews , of Warwick County in the British Colony of Virginia, was a member of the House of Burgesses, the Governor's Council, and served as Royal Governor of Virginia from 1656 to 1660.-Biography:...
(1658–1660) - Governor Sir William Berkeley (1660)
Crown Governors (1660–1775)
- Governor Sir William Berkeley (1660–1677)
- Lieutenant Governor Francis Morryson (1661–1662)
- Governor Sir Herbert Jeffries (1677–1678)
- Governor Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway (1677–1683)
- Lieutenant Governor Sir Henry Chicheley (1678–1680)
- Acting Governor Col. Nicholas SpencerNicholas SpencerCol. Nicholas Spencer was a London merchant who emigrated to Westmoreland County, Virginia, where he became a planter and which he represented in the Virginia House of Burgesses...
(September 1683 – April 1684) - Governor Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of EffinghamFrancis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham-External links:* from the Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia, Vol. I, June 11, 1680 - June 22, 1699....
(1684–1692, absentee from 1688)- Gen. Joseph BridgerBridger family of VirginiaThe Bridger Family of Virginia was one of the First Families of Virginia. The family originated in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. The family first appeared in the United States of America in 1654 when General Joseph Bridger, Sr., the son of Samuel and Mary Bridger, came to Isle of Wight,...
(1684) - President of the Council Nathaniel Bacon (1688–1690)
- Lieutenant Governor Francis NicholsonFrancis NicholsonFrancis Nicholson was a British military officer and colonial administrator. His military service included time in Africa and Europe, after which he was sent as leader of the troops supporting Sir Edmund Andros in the Dominion of New England. There he distinguished himself, and was appointed...
(1690–1692)
- Gen. Joseph Bridger
- Governor Sir Edmund AndrosEdmund AndrosSir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...
(1692–1698) - Governor George Hamilton, 1st Earl of OrkneyGeorge Hamilton, 1st Earl of OrkneyField Marshal George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney KT was a British soldier and Scottish nobleman and the first British Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. The son of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, he fought for William of Orange in Ireland and the Low Countries...
(1698–1737, absentee)- Lieutenant Governor Francis NicholsonFrancis NicholsonFrancis Nicholson was a British military officer and colonial administrator. His military service included time in Africa and Europe, after which he was sent as leader of the troops supporting Sir Edmund Andros in the Dominion of New England. There he distinguished himself, and was appointed...
(1698–1705) - Lieutenant Governor Col. Edward NottEdward NottColonel Edward Nott, Esq. was a British Colonial Governor of Virginia. He was appointed by Queen Anne on either April 25, 1705 or August 15, 1705. His administration lasted only one year, as he died in 1706 at the age of 49. He is interred at Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia...
(1705–1706) - Acting Governor Edmund JeningsEdmund JeningsEdmund Jenings was a Virginian politician. He was President of the Council of Virginia and later became the acting governor from August 23, 1706, to June 10, 1708.His father Sir Edmund Jenings was a Member of Parliament...
(1706–1710) - Lieutenant GovernorGeneral Robert Hunter (1707, captured at sea and never served)
- Lieutenant Governor Lt. Col. Alexander SpotswoodAlexander SpotswoodAlexander Spotswood was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army and a noted Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He is noted in Virginia and American history for a number of his projects as Governor, including his exploring beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, his establishing what was perhaps the first...
(1710–1722) - Lieutenant Governor Col. Hugh DrysdaleHugh DrysdaleColonel Hugh Drysdale was a British governor of colonial Virginia. More officially, his title was Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia...
(1722–1726) - President of the Council Robert "King" CarterRobert Carter IRobert "King" Carter , of Lancaster County, was a colonist in Virginia and became one of the wealthiest men in the colonies....
(1726 – September 1727) - Lieutenant Governor Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet (1727–1740)
- Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson
- Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle (1737–1754, absentee)
- Acting Governor James Blair (1740–1741) (acting for Lt. Gov. Gooch while latter out-of-country)
- Lieutenant Governor Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet (1741–1749)
- Acting Governor Thomas LeeThomas Lee (Virginia colonist)Thomas Lee was a leading political figure of colonial Virginia. He was a member of the Lee family, a political dynasty which included many figures from the pre-American Revolutionary War era until the late 20th century. Lee became involved in politics in 1710 and he became the resident manager of...
(1749–1751) - Lieutenant Governor Robert DinwiddieRobert DinwiddieRobert Dinwiddie was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 to January 1758, as deputy for John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun...
(1751–1756)
- Governor John Campbell, 4th Earl of LoudounJohn Campbell, 4th Earl of LoudounMajor-General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun was a British nobleman and army officer.-Early career:Campbell inherited the peerage on the death of his father in 1731, becoming Lord Loudoun. The earl raised a regiment of infantry that took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 on the side of the...
, (1756–1759)- Lieutenant Governor Robert DinwiddieRobert DinwiddieRobert Dinwiddie was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 to January 1758, as deputy for John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun...
(1756 – January 1758) - Lieutenant Governor Francis FauquierFrancis FauquierFrancis Fauquier was a Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Colony , and served as acting governor from 1758 until his death in 1768. He was married to Catherine Dalston....
(1758–1768)
- Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie
- Governor Jeffery Amherst (1759–1768, absentee)
- Acting Governor John Blair, Sr. (1768)
- Governor Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt (1768–1770)
- Acting Governor William NelsonWilliam Nelson (governor)William Nelson was an American planter and colonial leader from Yorktown, Virginia. In the interim between the royal governors Norborne Berkeley and Lord Dunmore, he served as governor of colonial Virginia in 1770 and 1771....
(1770–1771) - Governor John Murray, 4th Earl of DunmoreJohn Murray, 4th Earl of DunmoreJohn Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore was a British peer and colonial governor. He was the son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, and his wife Catherine . He is best remembered as the last royal governor of the Colony of Virginia.John was the eldest son of William and Catherine Murray, and nephew...
(1771 – June 1775)
See also
- VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
- Virginia Company of London
- Virginia Colony
- List of Governors of Virginia